I could not let this year end without writing a few words about one of my favorite records issued in 2012. Besides having a great title, “No Absolutes in Human Suffering” by Utah’s grinders Gaza is one of the most intense and violent musical experiences that I have had the pleasure of listening this year. I mean, it’s so downright nasty that it puts most of the current crop of hardcore/grind bands that are trying to sound extreme to shame.

“No Absolutes in Human Suffering” is Gaza’s third offering and mines the same territory that acts like Coalesce, Deadguy and Botch have made popular, but with a more grindy edge, which makes the whole experience even more punishing. Their fine blend of noisy grind and challenging hardcore is ridiculously powerful and energetic, but no less mesmerising. Songs like “This We Celebrate” and “When They Beg” can be as complexly heavy as catchy, with the band playing some memorable melodies between angry and twisted riffs.

“No Absolutes…” is an outstanding album and you can be assured that only bigger things are to come from these talented fellows.

Band info: www.gazamusic.net
Label info: www.blackmarketactivities.com

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“Gutter Choir”, the second and latest full-length from Massachusetts grinders Hivesmasher, deserves a warning label: "Not recommended for those with cardiovascular problems". I mean, this is a ridiculously intense, punishing and exciting record from the start to the very end as this six-piece group offers us a pissed off, crushing grindcore laced with some technical twists throughout most of the album. It’s guaranteed that some of these tracks will make your arterial pressure go skyward.

Raging away at breakneck speeds, Hivesmasher blend some piercing grindcore along with some heavy death metal, all with technical precision and mind-numbing arrangements. Both “The Shit Waltz” and “And They Thought We’d Forget” sound like a grind version of the most hyper-energetic side of Dillinger Escape Plan.

Occasionally, the sextet makes use of synthesizers and samples to create a more experimental, sinister sound as in tracks like “Lust in Creation's Wake” and “Send Me to Satan”, which adds more diversity to the whole experience.

One of the better grindcore releases to come out this year, here’s hoping “Gutter Choir” gets the recognition it deserves. (8)

Band info: www.hivesmasher.com
Label info: www.blackmarketactivities.com

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