The Return

Well friends, it's been far too long since my last post and I do so apologize for the wait. Only now has my life stabilized to the point where I can regularly update this blog again, so expect more frequent updates in the future. So what's been happening? Well, I joined a band some months back and as much as I wanted it to work out, it just didn't. They're still kicking, and have a new EP coming out in the near future that you'll want to get your hands on. Basically, my exit from the band has left me with enough free time to revive Funeral South and I'm very stoked on doing that. I hope you are too.

Now, rather than kicking off the return with a feature, I figure I'll let you guys in on some of the sick records I've been jamming as of late. Some of these aren't out yet, but when they drop, you better be picking them up. As you know, here in the Funeral South, we ONLY listen to quality. You should do the same.


Xibalba- Madre Mia Gracias Por Los Dias (A389 Recordings/Southern Lord)

Anybody remember how hard late 90's metalcore was? You had a bevy of artists like Disembodied, Harvest, Arkangel, and Turmoil holding it down and destroying everything in their paths. Well, if you've seen the current state of metalcore, you know that those days are long gone. However, thanks to the dudes in Xibalba, those glorious days of devastation might be making a serious comeback. If you took the best elements of 90's metal and hardcore, combined them with abrasive dissonance and old school death metal, then you'd have Xibalba. It's that simple. Southern Lord has released this compact disc compilation of all the material the guys have released up until now (the vinyl version came out on the incredible A389 Recordings imprint) and I feel the world may not be ready for the punishment that awaits. Xibalba is visceral, ugly, oppressive, and downright mean. If you're into listening to music that inflicts legitimate pain, look no further. The new kings have arrived.


Harm's Way- Isolation (Closed Casket Activities)

I've been into Harm's Way for a while now. I first heard their earlier material, which was more powerviolence/grind than hardcore and I was instantly hooked. As the Chicago-based band began transitioning into a more streamlined hardcore act, I continued watching and listening with great anticipation for what the future held. The first LP wasn't what I'd hoped it would be, but the EP that followed, aptly titled "No Gods, No Masters", was a step in the right direction. That right direction helped them arrive at this little destination called "Isolation" that they're preparing to drop on an unsuspecting world. After witnessing a host of these songs when I saw the band live in May, I was eager to hear if the brutality of the songs in a live setting would translate to the album.

I'm just gonna go on record and tell you, with all certainty, that this is the heaviest album of 2011. No questions asked. "Isolation" is a beast of an LP that finds Harm's Way fully realizing their vision of metallic hardcore, on a scale that some bands spend whole careers working towards and never reaching. Mixing uncompromising lyrics with an equally vicious vocal delivery reminiscent of Barney Greenway in his younger days, to the sounds of drums that attack from start to finish and some of the most absurdly heavy riffs I've ever heard, "Isolation" is a non-stop punisher. Even the Godflesh-inspired ambience is heavy! Did I say "Heavy" yet?

This record is going to do what so many others have attempted to do, in the full-on bridging of that seemingly massive gap between heavy metal and hardcore. Dudes with denim vests and black metal patches are just as likely to mosh to this as kids in gym shorts and crooked baseball caps. According to Harm's Way, the future is bleak but for them, it doesn't get much brighter.


Children of God- Coup De Grace

Have you ever listened to a record and felt dumbfounded immediately after it's over? For me, that's "Coup De Grace" by Children of God. I don't know much about this band, or where they came from. I don't have much to say in regards to the content of this EP. All I can really say is that in the case of this EP, the "Play" button on your stereo or Mp3 player should actually read "Detonate". Five songs, five minutes of pure, unadulterated carnage. I want to hear more by this band as soon as possible.


Drainland- And So Our Troubles Began (Southern Lord)

Another compact disc reissue by Southern Lords, Anderson and O'Malley. Drainland might as well be the bastard child of Noothgrush and His Hero Is Gone, as the Irish violators prefer to distribute their articulated bile with the tact of a chimp holding a 9mm. Believe me, that is a sincere compliment. Like a baby snake, this band has not yet learned to restrain their venom and aren't fully aware of their powers. I felt like I needed to take a long shower after one listen to this EP from start to finish, knowing in my heart that there's not a shower long enough to wash away this kind of filth. Savage, uncomfortable, poisonous, and menacing. If any of those adjectives tickle your fancy, I suggest you acquire this record as quickly as you can. As the years progress, I see this band becoming even more vile and damaging with age. Don't sleep on this.




That's all for now, but tune in for more updates coming very soon featuring interviews with Mike Apokalypse from the legendary Gehenna, Mike Abominator from the mighty Gravehill, and much much more. It's good to be back.


Thorne

I Know Hell Is Empty. Hell Is Right Here.

Sorry for the delay in posts, my friends. Ever heard the saying life comes at you fast? Well, believe me, it's the truth. The last two weeks of my life have been pretty crazy. I was given the opportunity to join one of my favorite bands, Paralyzer, and I'll be playing my first show with them next Friday night. I'm excited about it, because I've wanted to sing in a serious band since I was 14 years old. It's an even bigger treat to get to do this in a band with some of my best friends on the planet. So, I've taken a breather from learning songs, practicing, and helping with general band business to let you guys in on one more excellent band in the current East Tennessee scene.

I've been knowing the dudes in Stand Your Ground for five years now, and I can't think of one single band of our current scene that his put in the kind of work they have over the years. They've been through several member cycles, and changed their sound a bit over the years, but Stand Your Ground is still...well, standing their ground. Comprised of Will Ford on vocals, Daniel Taylor on guitar, Jonathan Taylor on bass, and Troy Prater on drums, the guys recently signed to Rite of Passage Records, a sub-label for California metal/hardcore indie giants, Mediaskare Records.

This might come as another signing to most people, but to those of us who've watched Stand Your Ground work as hard as they have for so many years, it is definitely a triumph for them. When original members, Rob Wight and Aaron Nidiffer, left the band in 2008, a lot of people didn't know what would follow. Wight was replaced on vocals by Luke Arnold, who lasted all of two or three weeks in the band, and Nidiffer was replaced on guitar by Will Ford. After Luke's unceremonious exit from the band, Will stepped in on vocals and has been killing it with the guys ever since. The band's sound is a hybrid between sweeping melodies and aggressive early decade hardcore like American Nightmare, Shai Hulud, and Figure Four.

Will also happens to be one of the nicest, most sincere dudes you'll ever meet and he was happy to take some time out and give Funeral South the scoop on what's happening currently for Stand Your Ground. Unfortunately, since the social networking site this interview was conducted on decided to erase the first half of the interview and my man is in North Carolina doing his thing, it's not quite as long as it originally was. So, let me catch you up on what Hatebook deleted.

Will started out in local favorites, Speak of The End, on bass. During that time, he also had his own pop punk band called Sundale. I loved both bands, but neither band ended up making it. When he stepped up to be vocalist for Stand Your Ground, he'd never sang in a band like this before, but you wouldn't know it listening to them. As a frontman, Will excels more than most people in this area...but the guy still misses playing his guitar. I've spent many nights at the old Stand Your Ground haunts in and around Kingsport, TN and have a lot of great memories of being up at five in the morning listening to Will play everything from "Master of Puppets" to "Blood and Thunder" on his guitar. There was also the night of the infamous Nu-Metal Knowledge quiz...which he won, in the fourth round.

I'll let him fill you in on the rest. Also included in this feature is Stand Your Ground's 2009 demo. The guys are currently tracking an LP, which will be out on Rite of Passage Records later this year.


Funeral South: Now, this isn't your first go-round with a record label since you've been in the band. I know some sketchy things transpired with the last one, so would you care to fill us in on that?

Will Ford: Well a record company, who will remain nameless, just kinda drug us around for about three months before completely pulling the plug. That led to pretty much all of 2010 for this band being very stale. We came back from a little three week run in March and honestly didn't pick back up until about 3 months ago, haha. So it was a rough go, for sure.

Funeral South: Is the saying true though that it builds character though?

Will: Absolutely. We've dealt with a shitty hand many times before and it's only made us grow as a unit, as sappy and cliche as that sounds.

Funeral South: So, what's on the agenda for you in the coming months? I know you dudes have a pretty big tour coming up in April, and you're recording in North Carolina soon.

Will: Yeah man, we're hitting the studio with Mitchell and Al again in Chapel Hill to do what will be my first full length with the band, and we start a full U.S. tour in Cali on April 11th. We're definitely chomping at the bit to hit the road again.

Funeral South: Who are you going out with, this time around?

Will: Honestly, off the top of my head, I can't remember all the names but they all sound like The Acacia Strain. so we will definitely be playing the odd man out role on this tour as we've done oh so many times before, haha.

Funeral South: Many, MANY times before. For those who've never heard you guys, how would you describe the band's sound?

Will: Definitely just night and day with heavy and melodic. We're heavily influenced by bands of the early 2000's like Shai Hulud, Remembering Never, and Comeback Kid. Not to say we sound like any of those bands but that's definitely what drives our sound as a band.

Funeral South: Considering how often the musical landscape changes, especially with the kind of music you guys play, what do you feel sets Stand Your Ground apart from the rest of the pack?

Will: I do feel like we take metal and hardcore and just try to put our own spin on it. We've always never been metal enough for the metal crowd and at the same time we've never been hardcore enough for the hardcore crowd. But it's been cool because I feel that our band can play with almost anyone in either of the aforementioned genres.

Funeral South: And you have. As far as the financial aspect goes, are you guys hoping to be able to live from what you do with Stand Your Ground in the future?

Will: Most definitely. I think playing music and getting a check for it is what every kid who is a musician dreams of being able to do, haha.

Funeral South: Does your entire band work at Cheddar's when you're not touring? It seems like it's a job you don't have an issue juggling touring with, at all.

Will: Everyone but Troy does, haha! And yeah they're super cool with us touring so it's been a pretty great relationship.

Funeral South: Looking forward, after the tour in April, do you guys have any further plans you can reveal?

Will: We do have some big stuff I'm really not at liberty to talk about, but the rest of this year will be super full for SYG.

Funeral South: Now William, it's time for the Hard Hits round! 6 random questions, 6 random answers! Are you prepared, sir?

Will Ford: ALWAYS!

Funeral South: Your old drummer has a stuffed sheep named Abraham. True or false?

Will: Absolutely 100% iron clad, true as shit.

Funeral South: If you had a choice between taking guitar lessons from Rob Machine Head or going on tour singing for Comeback Kid, which would you pick?

Will: Wow. Definitely doing a tour with CBK, just because singing for them would be one of my wildest dreams come true...but at some point this band will do something involving Rob Flynn...MARK MY WORDS!

Funeral South: Sketchiest gig you've played yet with Stand Your Ground. Go.

Will: Uh, we played this place called World of Wonders somewhere in Kentucky that looked like the strip club from Porky's. It was so sketch. The owner lived in a junkyard out back in a shitty camper. It was so wild!

Funeral South: Worst tour experience. Driving all the way to Michigan to play a single show and come home, or being stranded in Georgia for days on end?

Will: Definitely being stranded in Georgia. We were at Daniel's crazy aunt's house. She made us go to bed at like nine, and we had to sneak around to smoke cigs. I was pissed for like four days straight, so all I wanted to do was smoke. Our friend Mallory basically came and covertly kidnapped us while his aunt was gone and took us back to Atlanta.

Funeral South: Next question. Role reversal. Do you have a question for me?

Will: What is the best movie soundtrack, "Strangeland" being omitted, because we all know how hard it rocks.

Funeral South: I'm gonna say The Crow, man. Totally wrecked my world for the better as a kid.

Will: Was it The Crow or The Crow: City of Angels that had "Milquetoast" by Helmet?

Funeral South: The Crow.

Will: Best riff of the 90's.

Funeral South: My first introduction to Helmet, plus it featured Pantera covering "The Badge" by Poison Idea. Can't go wrong either way. Last question...do you possibly have three dollars and fifty cents you could loan me for the blog?

Will: GODDAMMIT MONSTA!

Funeral South: Caught me! Will, this interview's been a hell of a lot of fun, buddy. Any last words for the readers?

Will: Definitely keep an eye out for our new full length...and listen to Fingers Crossed, Will To Die, In Time, Stronghold, Paralyzer, and Advent. And keep coming to shows.

Stand Your Ground 2009 Demo

Working Poor

When I first started going to Hardcore shows in '07, I felt like an outsider. A friend of mine had introduced me to a few of the people who regularly attended gigs at our finest local establishment, The Hideaway, but I still felt that somehow I just didn't belong. I'd grown up in the Metal scene, going to shows with dudes who were way older than me and that's what I was used to. Mind you, I've loved Hardcore since my teens but until a few years ago, I'd never been to any real hardcore shows. Growing up in Wise, VA you come to find that those just don't happen. So, when I discovered this beautiful scene in East Tennessee, I was immediately drawn to it. However, as I said at the beginning, it's still tough being the new guy.

I remember one of the first friendly faces I ever met was a guy named Ben Peterson, more commonly known as Ben Pete to those who know him best. Ben went out of his way to be friendly, welcoming, and downright cool to me the first time he ever ran into me at a show and I've considered him a friend ever since. In terms of good people, that dude is still one of the best you could ever hope to meet. Back in '09, he started up a band with some other great dudes I knew from Abingdon, VA. Ben was singing, Alex Bice was on guitar, Derek Holman was on bass, and Cory Singleton was on drums. They called themselves In Time.

In September of that year, I was lucky enough to attend In Time's first show. The turnout for that particular show wasn't great, for some reason. Regardless, I stood at the front of the stage with Neal and Alex from Mind Sludge, and watched as In Time blazed through one of the most fun, energetic Hardcore sets I'd ever seen. The combination of their old school meets new school sound, Ben's lyrical sincerity, and the fact that they really believe in their message of unity, hope, and perseverance was enough to sell me on In Time from the get-go. Since that night, I've had the chance to see them play even more shows and keep getting better as a band, in the process.

Ben, Alex, and Derek got in touch with me the other night and I decided to interview all of them for this blog. The guys have released a few demo's, and the one included in this blog, "Johnson City Hardcore" is my favorite of the bunch. Consisting of two songs, this is the best they've ever sounded in terms of recording and songwriting. Kevin Lane was actually able to translate the band's live energy in the studio, and when you hear it, you'll definitely be inclined to agree. But until then, scope an interview with In Time. Of all the interviews I've done in my life, this easily ranks as the most fun I've ever had during one. Enjoy.

Funeral South: You guys just finished practicing right? Any new material come from this particular jam?

Ben: Yeah, we got like half of another new song done. We should get it finished within the next practice.

Derek: It's much different from stuff weve done in the past. I think it's awesome, so hopefully everyone else will too.

Alex: It doesn't have tits, but still it's pretty cool.

Funeral South: Haha, I saw on your Twitter where you said this song was mean. I don't think I've ever classified any of your songs, even as aggressive as they are, to be mean in any way. What's different about this one?

Alex: I just wrote some shit right then, and Derek made some shit up. Then, Ben hummed some sick riffs.

Derek: The longer we are a band the less we are inspired by other bands...more of doing whatever the fuck you want, ya know?

Ben: I don't know. The riff sounds really driving and makes me wanna do bad things. Wait till you hear the guitar solo and the singing parts!

Funeral South: So you're telling me that Alex's inner shredder is coming to life?

ALL: Yes.

Ben: We listened to Hendrix all the way to practice and then it came out of him. Realistically, it sounds like a 108 groove riff.

Funeral South: That's most definitely a new influence. It's hard to believe you guys have been together over a year now. In fact, I saw the first show and the most recent show and unlike most cases, it's not like I've seen two separate bands. You guys are still very much the way you were over a year ago but with an even tighter, more diverse sound.

Ben: Thanks homie. Yeah, I mean, we are a hardcore punk band, and that's all we'll ever be so some drastic change in sound you will never hear. Keith Morris had a point when he said, "Get through the intro, trim the fat, do the outro, and boom! Song's finished."

Derek: That's pretty much what we're going for. We wanna do new and different shit for your listening pleasure without straying too far from what we wanted to be when we started the band. Like I said before, we're more on writing what we want to write now as opposed to picking a certain style and trying hard to stick to it.

Alex: Yeah, I mean it's all coming out of our head, so there will undoubtedly always be some level of continuity to it. We'll never sound like a different band than what we started as, because we don't know how a different band would even go about writing songs.

Funeral South: As far as influences are concerned, who DOES musically inspire you as individuals and collectively as a band?

Derek: Agnostic Front is a big one, plus lots of old shit like Warzone, Breakdown, 108, Inside Out, and anything I think sounds awesome at the moment when I want to create a riff.

Alex: Recently Youth of Today, Judge and Justice are about the only hardcore bands i've listened to. I don't want to be that guy, but I usually just listen to Paul Simon or Jefferson Airplane or some shit.

Ben: As for me, I only EVER wanted to be in a band where I could at least try and sound like Roger Miret and Agnostic Front. They have always been my favorite band. Of course Freddy Madball is an influence on vocals too. Even though I sound nothing like him, he is still one of my favorites. His energy, charisma and presence are untouchable. Those are the main two for me, but there are so many more though. I mean Gorilla Biscuits' "Start Today" helped me change the way I thought about things at a young age, when I first heard it. H20 did the same thing.

Derek: And Waka Flocka Flame too.

Funeral South: The last one makes more sense than the others, since you guys DO go hard in the paint...

ben: Always.

Funeral South: You guys have put out three demos, the most recent being the "Johnson City Hardcore" demo, recorded with Kevin Lane in Kingsport, TN. That demo is the one going with this interview on Funeral South. How do you think it measures against your other releases, and when will the next release be coming?

Derek: As far as recording quality goes, I will have to say it's an obvious improvement. Kevin definitely knows what he's doing and any bands looking to get recorded should check him out. Musically...I feel the same, as far as it being an improvement to our older stuff. I still like our older stuff and we continue to play it live, but I feel the new stuff is more diverse and our songwriting abilities have improved greatly. We used to pretty much depend on Alex to riff the whole song on guitar and then just piece it together. Now, the whole bands is getting more involved and we are sharing more ideas. I think each time we write a song everything improves a little bit and we are more happy with the results. As far as a new release goes, I'm not so sure about that. We have a song recorded that is going to be on a 7" comp that Dave Conrad is doing, so you should hear that shit some time soon. We're pretty much just writing and playing it by ear. We'll probably be recording as we go, for a while at least.

Alex: Yeah, as far as the recording quality goes, Kevin's our man. The stuff he's recorded for us sounds worlds better than anything else we've got. I don't know that I necessarily like any of our songs better than any others. It's like picking which of your children you like better in a way, but I think, from a technical standpoint, the newer songs are improving on the older ones. You just get better at writing songs the more you write, or I feel like I have anyway. I'm always impressed when younger kids can write awesome stuff. I mean, listening to the shit Stronghold writes I am impressed even more when I think about how young those kids are and what shitty music I wrote at that age. It's definitely been a good thing for us to write the songs AT practice though, because all of us have good ideas that we can put into the song instead of writing the whole song and then fitting other parts to it. The last two songs we've written though, we just got to practice and said, "Hey, let's write a song." Nobody had anything beforehand and we left with a song, or most of one anyway. I just play something and if it sounds cool, we use it, so at some point everything that we have we're using it because we like it. I don't know where I'm going with this though, so I'll leave it at that.

Ben: Yep, that pretty much gets it. Jake Moore sings on a track and that's like a life goal for me! Pick up the 7" that Dave Conrad is doing too. It has our new song on it, Dave rules, and has helped us out since Day 1.

Funeral South: What do you guys think it is about East Tennessee that inspires the level of quality you achieve with hardcore? I think of all the bands like yourselves, Fingers Crossed, IROM, Stand Your Ground, Stronghold, Bruteforce, etc. and how each band is unique in their own way but each band also brings something great to the table.

Alex: I don't know anything about achieving a level of quality. We just write stuff we like and then we play it. I think if that's where your music comes from, it will have some redeeming quality and somebody somewhere will connect with it, regardless of what it is. We are definitely very lucky to have bands like those in the area though.

Ben: I think it all comes down to influences. Within every band around here, we all have different influences, and all sound different. But we all influence each other too. No band around here cares a damn about what is "cool" music to play. Bruteforce was playing the Merauder/Biohazard NYHC style way before it blew up, in the last couple years.

Derek: I think the area does have an impact on what kind of music we are writing and what quality we go for, to an extent. All the bands here do influence each other in some way. It seems to me that the bands and kids in this area don't really care about what is poppin' off currently. Bands like Hammer Bros. and The Carrier bring the crowd here. Not Fire and Ice or Dead End Path. This area is real and I know our band is influenced lyrically by the struggles put in front of us in an area like this. Work your ass off for a little bit of nothing. That's the way of life and I think our lyrics reflect that a lot.

Funeral South: So, as a band, what are you guys shooting for in the future? Any serious touring on the horizon, maybe even a full length at some point?

Derek: We will do as much touring as we can, if the opportunity calls. We have people in school, working full-time jobs, and Cory is raising a kid. I know that playing music is a big part of everyone in this band's lives. We wish we could do it all the time, but life happens, ya know? I'm not sure about a full length. Like I said before, we will probably be recording songs as we write them for a while. Releasing a full length would be expensive as a mother fucker for some broke dudes like us. So, we will do the best we can with getting new songs up to be heard and keep shit fresh.

Ben: Yep, I would love nothing more than to hop in a van, and just go wherever to play punk rock, but that's hard to do. Unless we get signed to Universal records and tour with Hatebreed, we'll probably just keep recording a song at a time, haha.

Alex: I just made plans for what I'm going to do tomorrow just now. I don't know what will happen next week, or the week after that, so who knows. We didn't plan on writing anything new tonight, but it happened and I'm excited about it. So I guess a full length album would be cool, but we're not trying to sit down and write a whole album any time soon. Like they said, we all have a lot going on...and Cory has a kid, so he's going to have to be in bed by 10:30.

Funeral South: Now, it's time to wrap this up with the Hard Hits round.

Derek: Oh boy!

Funeral South: 6 random questions for you dudes that you'll answer even more randomly!

Ben: Yes!

Funeral South: I know I'm talking to fellow movie buffs, so in your opinions, who is taking home the Best Picture Oscar this year?

Alex: I'd give it to The Fighter or Black Swan, but The Social Network was good and Fincher and the cast and crew are just as deserving for that, I think. I'd give you a much more definitive answer if you asked Best Cinematography or Director.

Ben: This year's nominees (the 4 or 5 that actually have a chance to win) were all great movies and whoever wins, be it The Kings Speech, The Fighter, Black Swan or The Social Network, deserve it. There isn't a bad or wrong choice there. My personal favorite was The Fighter, followed closely by Black Swan. BUT, I think The Social Network will win because of the lasting impact it will have on our culture.

Derek: Out of all of those, I only saw The Fighter. But, that shit was dope...so I hope it wins.

Funeral South: If you could obtain cell phone n00dz from any female, who would it be?

Derek: My girlfriend. She's pretty hot.

Ben: Katy Perry.

Alex: I mean, tits are cool.

Ben: Sammy's ex-girlfriend, hahaha!

Derek: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Funeral South: I will totally back the last answer.


Ben: Dat booty look good too.

Funeral South: On the subject of Sammy, who do you think would win in a fight between Sammy Pain (guitarist of Fingers Crossed) and the entire lineup of Throwdown?

Alex: Well, obviously Throwdown. He's buff, but he can't beat up the whole band by himself. That shit's silly. I bet I could beat him in a footrace though.

Derek: Supposing this is Royal rumble Style. I'd say he could throw a few motherfuckers out, but I don't know about the whole band. And don't listen to Alex, as far as footracing goes. I'm out of shape, and yet I have bested that fucker every chance I've had.

Ben: Well, if Throwdown are still a Straight Edge band, Throwdown wins. If not, Sammy wins because those motherfuckers let down the Edge and are now weak. Sammy Pain still has that edge cake to whoop 'em with!

Funeral South: Almost there, dudes. What is the sketchiest show you've ever played?

Ben: None yet, but I'm down to find them. Put me up in a meth house or some shit! I'll rock that motherfucker!

Derek: Sketchiest? Probably any time my boy, Cody Novak, was in the crowd.

Alex: I don't know, man. If they've got a toilet and electrical outlets I guess they're doing alright. We've never really played any place really sketchy, but that's all relative.

Funeral South: Derek mentioned Cody Novak. If only one Bruteforce member could have a reality show on Fox, which one would it be?

Derek: Obviously, it would be him, without question. Dude is hilarious.

Ben: Novak, doin' wild shit.

Alex: I think there should be a network dedicated to Sammy lifting weights.

Funeral South: And finally...role reversal...do you dudes have a question for me?

Derek: I want to know about the finest pair of tits you've ever laid your eyes upon.

Ben: And just who's noodz would YOU like to acquire?

Alex: If you were sentenced to death would you rather be hanged, guillotined, or lethal injection...and no bullshit, badass answer. I mean, for real.

Funeral South: Derek, her name was Lilith and she lived in Bristol. She had a baby though, and while those monsters were even bigger, so was the rest of her. Ben, Athena Sexton.
Alex, I'd prefer decapitation over any of those simply because the body survives for a few moments after the head comes off. If I had to die, I'd want to experience what that feels like beforehand.

Derek: Alright, but before the guy cuts your head off, just for a laugh, he's going to stick three fingers in your ass. You still cool with that?

Funeral South: Absolutely not...but get at me when I have a little less shame, and we'll talk about it. You dudes have been awesome sports and this interview has killed. Do you have any last words for the folks at Funeral South?

Derek: Thanks for doing the interview. Keep doing what you're doing, because this shit rules. Shouts outs to all of our E.T.H.C. boys and the bands here who go hard as fuck every time. Get wild in the pit at the next show!

That concludes my interview with In Time, a great band...and even greater dudes. See you next week on Funeral South with a big feature for the grind junkies! For now, enjoy "Johnson City Hardcore" by In Time!

Johnson City Hardcore

Murder T. Wrote

Now, for those of you who know me personally, you know that I love rap. Next to metal and hardcore, there's really no form of music I love as much as I love rap. When I say this, I'm not talking about this new breed of garbage on the airwaves. I'm talking about real, raw hip hop. When I was 13, I heard "Straight Outta Compton" by N.W.A. and my life was never the same. The same year I got a hold of "The Chronic" by Dr. Dre, "Doggystyle" by Snoop Dogg, "All Eyez On Me" by 2Pac, and "Lethal Injection" by Ice Cube. Needless to say, I live in Virginia but my love lies with the West Coast.

However, I've also got love for a lot of East Coast rappers. Mobb Deep's "The Infamous" can be heard in regular rotation quite a bit around my house, as can almost anything by Wu-Tang Clan and most Wu-Tang solo releases. There's also a huge soft spot for "Illmatic" and "It Was Written" by Nas. Speaking of East Coast rappers, that brings me to this update of Funeral South.

Terry P.O.W. is the frontman of New England hardcore band Product of Waste, but also has a rap project known as P.O.W. Camp. While I'm a fan of Product of Waste, I am an even bigger fan of what Terry is doing here with P.O.W. Camp. This is hip hop all right, but nothing like you'll be hearing on the radio any time soon. Why? Well, there are a few reasons.

It's smart, but it isn't pretentious. There's something about Terry's delivery that reminds of me of how Nas was in his early days. It's a near-flawless combination of intelligence and legitimate street cred that makes this man one of the only shining lights in the new era of hip hop. Be on the lookout for Terry and P.O.W. Camp very soon. Trust me when I say they're poised to blow up at any moment. For now, scope the mixtape. We'll see you again next time on Funeral South!


Terry P.O.W.- Murder T. Wrote

That's When I Became A Satanist

If you're a real fan of heavy music, you're probably wondering what more I'll be able to say about Entombed that hasn't already been said before? I could tell you about how, from the ashes of Nihilist, five young Swedes created "Left Hand Path", one of the most legendary albums in the history of Death Metal. I could tell you about how they followed it up with "Clandestine", an even more extreme and technical piece of brutal music that die-hard fans still wage war over.

I could tell you about how the band did something completely unexpected, and followed it up with "Wolverine Blues" which, due in part to its simplicity and focus on pure divine heaviness, remains one of the true undisputed classics of Metal to this day. I could say how they went even further into the rockin' world after that with the brilliant and sometimes overlooked, "To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak The Truth". I could also mention the disaster that followed those excellent records, in the form of "Same Difference", an album most Entombed fans (myself included) almost refuse to even acknowledge as part of their discography.

But, I won't. Instead, I'm going to tell you about Entombed's last four albums, all of which are criminally underrated everywhere except for the halls of Funeral South. For some reason, a lot of people seem to forget that Entombed has released more albums than the first four. For those of us who have continued listening, with eager anticipation for everything this band does, that's not the case at all.

The first of these overlooked albums is 2000's "Uprising". This record is most affectionately known by some of us as "The Motorhead Album" and for good reason. It seemed like Entombed was legitimately channeling Lemmy and Co. on this album, and doing a great job of it. It was also the second album to feature drummer Peter "Flinta" Stjarnvind, who joined the band after Nicke Andersson's departure. Flinta definitely unleashed the beast on this record, delivering one of the most punishing drum performances I've ever heard put to tape. No digitizing, no computer fix-ups, just raw aggression.

As far as overall song quality goes, Entombed delivers with each and every track. It's the band channeling their most punk rock tendencies and sounding more like they tracked this in a dirty rehearsal room in Stockholm than an actual studio. Songs like "Say It In Slugs", "Won't Back Down", and "Returning To Madness" are some of the best in their entire catalog. It also features a cover of Dead Horse's "Scottish Hell" that puts the original to shame.

The follow-up to this album was 2001's "Morning Star". They couldn't have picked a stronger follow-up to "Uprising" than this beast of an album, nor a more blasphemous one at that. As the title suggests, "Morning Star" pays total tribute to Satan and all of his glory. Musically, it's the cleanest Entombed has ever sounded. The production was simply ace, and didn't sacrifice a single ounce of heaviness for the sake of clarity.

Song quality is even sicker than "Uprising", with tracks like "Chief Rebel Angel", "Out of Heaven", "City of Ghosts" and "I For An Eye" storming out of the gates with reckless abandon and gutting everything in their path. If any album could have launched Entombed back into the spotlight they deserve, it should have been this one. I don't understand why and how that didn't happen, and if you have listened to this album as much as I have, you hopefully share my confusion.

The next album was 2003's "Inferno". Quite honestly, I think this is what Entombed was going for on "Same Difference". It's a dirty, filthy, Rock and Roll album without sacrificing the Metal attitude that was sorely missing on "Same Difference". The production is raw, nasty, and reeks of the blues. Every single song is an absolute banger, with the notable standouts being "The Fix Is In", "Children of The Underworld", "That's When I Became A Satanist" and "Nobodaddy".

"Inferno" was also the last record to feature Uffe Cederland, Jorgen Sandstrom, and Peter Stjarnvind. Uffe went on to play in Disfear, Jorgen now plays in Vicious Art, and Peter made the best choice of all, joining up with Nifelheim. After that, everyone was somewhat unsure of what awaited Entombed, but four years later, we had our answer.

2007's "Serpent Saints" was evil. Pure...evil. In fact, I'll go as far as to say it is the most evil sounding Entombed record to ever be released. The guys definitely had a lot to prove with this one, with all of the member losses and so many years between this and "Inferno". With L.G. Petrov and Alex Hellid being the sole original members remaining, bassist Nico Elgstrand and drummer Olle Dahlstedt stepped into the fold with absolute ease.

Song for song, I can't name a single weak track on "Serpent Saints" at all. "Ministry", the title track, "Thy Kingdom Koma" and "When In Sodom" are some of the most vintage sounding Entombed songs since "Wolverine Blues". The production is still raw, much like "Inferno", but it works just as well with faster, metallic songs as it did with the rockin' tracks on the past album.

The bottom line in all of this is that Entombed is still here, still relevant, and still making great music. If you haven't had the chance, find out for yourself. I don't think you'll be disappointed. It's been 4 years now since they gave us "Serpent Saints" and I can only hope album number 10 is just around the corner. Until next time, stay heavy.


Entombed- Uprising (2000)

Entombed- Morning Star (2001)

Entombed- Inferno (2001)

Entombed- Serpent Saints (2007)

Sludge Your Mind

Welcome to Funeral South. You've seen the description, so hopefully you know what you're in for. This site is dedicated to all forms of extreme and underground music, with the occasional lapse into the mainstream by way of the underground. This blog has been a long time coming, and I'm thankful that some of you are actually stoked to check it out. If you would like your band reviewed on the blog, hit up the e-mail and let me know. Now, with that out of the way, let's start the show.

The first band to be featured here on Funeral South is, in my humble opinion, the sickest hardcore band to ever come out of East Tennessee. At the time of their inception, the hardcore scene was full of very interesting bands that each had a different sound. However, things changed completely when Mind Sludge came along. Comprised of Alex Depew (Convictions, Just Jump That, Mental Shock, D.R.M.) on vocals, Neal Williams (Black Winter Holocaust, Austere Necrosis, Mental Shock, D.R.M.) on bass, Isaac Harris (My Final Resting Place, Pillarist, Stand Your Ground) on drums, and 14-year old Devon Guinn on guitar.

Quite honestly, you couldn't possibly find four more random characters to start a band like Mind Sludge if you tried. Neal and Alex had worked together before in Mental Shock and D.R.M., but until Mind Sludge, Isaac had never played this style of music and Devon had never even played in a band. I guess, by now, you're wondering what this band DID sound like. I've hinted at it this whole time, but haven't fully gone into any detail.

If you took the speed and violence of the original grind movement, and mixed it with hardcore, you would be left with Mind Sludge. I still get the same chills from their music now that I did two years ago when the first EP was completed. Neal got home from the studio, found me on AIM, and sent it to me immediately. I've worn it out, and still continue to do so. The frantic, bleak, and downright hateful vocals Alex put on this thing perfectly complimented the songs as much as the bass-heavy production. I've said it once, and I'll say it again. When bands have a great bassist, that bassist needs to be heard. Neal is no exception.

I can remember going with the guys to a show in Knoxville, TN in 2009 and how obscenely hot it was that July. Since I live on a mountain in Virginia, I left my house with a newly purchased His Hero Is Gone long sleeve, feeling as comfortable as possible. By the time I met Neal, closer to TN, I was in hell. It had to be pushing 100 degrees outside that day, and the only thing he and Alex could do was laugh hysterically at my poor wardrobe choice.

When we met up with our ride to Knoxville, Alex and I stopped in the nearest convenient store to get our personal provisions for the trip, in the form of cigarettes for me and Grizzly Mint for him. Before Alex traded snuff for smokes, he was the most committed "dipper" I'd ever met in my life. However, he obviously had an edge on me. By the time we made it to Knoxville, I was having the nicotine fit from hell due to not being able to smoke in our ride's car while he remained calm, due to his inner-lip tobacco balm.

The venue, Longbranch Saloon, is a very cool place to play shows. The upper room is equally disgusting and beautiful, depending on who you are. The acrid stench of smoke and booze permeated through the thick, humid July air before we even set foot in the actual building. When we went upstairs, Jon from Bruteforce (Another band you'll be hearing about in this blog) informed us that all bands get a certain amount of free beer. Since the bartender wasn't carding, 20-year old Alex immediately started laying it to the Schlitz. Four beers later, Mind Sludge was ready to play. Even though none of the kids in attendance moved (it's typical at hardcore shows to stand with your arms folded for non-hype bands) Mind Sludge destroyed that room, as only they could.

As the night progressed, Alex somehow kept getting beer. By the time we realized this, he was five different shades of hammered. As we drove away from the venue, Alex spotted an old man walking along the street and thought it was Joe Walsh...yes, THAT Joe Walsh.

"Hey! Hey, Joe! I fuckin' love you, man!"

The old man responded with a middle finger and angry stare.

"What the fuck was that for?! Come on, dude! Play 'Rocky Mountain Way'!"


As if that wasn't enough, we later stopped at a gas station so Alex could piss. He suddenly came out of the gas station with a Mountain Dew and a candy bar. Considering Alex had been broke for a few days, we were all perplexed as to how he had a Mountain Dew and candy bar. We didn't figure out that he'd walked out of the store without paying, until he started drunkenly giggling about how nice the old woman at the counter was.

That's only one of dozens of stories about that dude, and a lot of fond memories came from my friendship with the dudes in this band. As of now, Mind Sludge as we knew it is long gone. Alex is still involved in music to some extent, and still creates under the Mind Sludge banner. However, his newer output is far removed from the grinding hardcore the band was known for. I'll always look forward to hearing whatever he does musically, as it's always interesting and entertaining. Neal has gone on to play bass in Paralyzer, another band you should definitely check out. Devon joined up with Stronghold recently, another area hardcore band that's coming up in a big way. As for Isaac, he now plays drums for The Showdown and is working towards the dream. That elusive dream of playing music for a living. But hell, if anyone is good enough to do it, it is most definitely Isaac. While I've never liked The Showdown, I'll support it as long as he's behind the kit.

But enough reminiscing. Here is the first ever Mind Sludge demo, containing six of the hardest songs to ever come from this area, along with a two song promo the guys recorded early last year. Get into it, and we'll see you again soon here on Funeral South.


Mind Sludge- Demo 2009


Mind Sludge- Addiction Scriptures Promo 2010