Devil's Horns Zine

  Endless Bore-What Do You Dig For? EP review. FFO: Uncompromising, fast as fuck hardcore with depth. I love this band, fast and intelligent and so old school. Too many bands go for the new angle or groove, but this is the perfect mix of fast hardcore meets punk. There may be heaps of bands that have influenced this band, but they definitely sound original as hell. And this current EP actually lifts it more, I mean we have the usual and brilliant beat your face with a baseball bat EB classic fare(which is better than most current bands)like Sink into Despair, Persistent Bother and killer opener The Buck Stop's Where? . But they have added some new flavours to the mix, like Taking Stock which has that clever groove driven by the riffs (and frankly ingenious songwriting), Tempered Expectations which has some sick arse sludge riffs and bass lines that grab your attention quickly. Just Money uses a similar approach, except it is the timely spaces in between the chaos that gives the ...

  Northwalk-Crossroads album review. FFO: Acidic and modern metallic hardcore with bite. 2022 is proving another massive year for 1054 records and after Capo Kong dropped their killer EP a few days back, here is the awesome new album from Quebec's killer hardcore force; Northwalk. This showcases their massive progression from their earlier albums; there is more metal in the mix and they certainly mix it up on this release. More subtle tempo changes, some frankly wild guitar work and tons of energy on every track. I dig how they have a sound at its core like First Blood, but the harmonies are way eviler and there is an excellent undercurrent of metalcore and death metal as well. The hardcore is classic hardcore that dips between European and American styles, with even some straight edge riffs for good measure. But it also sounds very modern, this band has a very wide audience appeal and this album will definitely draw in heavy music fans of many varieties. There is solid variety in ...

  Capo Kong-Extortion EP review. FFO: Heavy and crushing beatdown hardcore. Here is the brutal sledgehammer that is the mighty Capo Kong. As the label declares this is straight-up ignorant and brutal beatdown hardcore and of the highest level. Just gritty and heavy stuff that you need for the pit. These five tracks are hectic and if the colossal riffs and burly vocals don't choke you, the rhythm section will kick your arse. And the lyrics will bite your head off as well. This is proper street-level grime, and you can taste it in every track. How refreshing is it to hear some real hardcore with balls, not that lame weak-ass trendy shit. This has as much metal as it does classic beatdown hardcore, but with so much swagger. Peter of 1054 records love beatdown and I was thinking when this dropped- please let this be the tough shit, not the pissy euro beatdown that generally is so dull.  And Capo Kong delivers on every level. No wasted lyrics, riffs or time, but straight up violent...

  Through Mists-A Touch of Decay EP review. FFO: Quirky, clever death/black/extreme metal. Again Twitter found me this killer band. Now Through Mists is an experimental and conceptual extreme metal band from Montreal and over these four tracks I cannot pigeonhole this band and that's fucking cool. I mean the title track bounces from weirdo keyboards and vocal gymnastics that sit between Mr Bungle, Nordic Black Metal and even Nu Metal; but in a cool way. I literally have heard no band like this. A Touch of Decay is one hell of an entertaining ride. The three other tracks are as insane as the opener, the song structures are weird and all over the place. But it works well, in Cacophanous Echoes you have Sesame Street's Cookie Monster on lead vocals and absolute war-like riffs balanced by some clean and symphonic-like secondary vocals. But none of this is a novelty, it's just wild extreme metal that is delivered well. The second track even has some crazed 80's keyboard stu...

  Bong Coffin-qvkemother EP review. FFO: Dirty, swampy sludge.   Thanks, Twitter to steering me to this great aussie band. This Adelaide band kick serious arse and I love the mix of deep and resonating bass/riffs whilst the vocals are part grunge/part exorcism. The band has some really solid releases from last year and this is the latest. Now I love quality sludge and doom, but like many genres, it is littered with generic bands of no substance. But Bong Coffin are weighty and solid specimens for their species and any release you pick up is excellent. This December release is three tracks and perfectly dirty from start to end. It is utterly about the depressing, but dynamic tone-bass focused and grim as fuck. Everything is fantastic, the art, the production, the lyrics and the amazing song presence. This of course would be excellent live and is one solid tune after another to make a solid release for the band. The highlight was Way Outta League which is as much Sabbath wo...

  Klavierkrieger -Harmonien der Schwarzenmesse EP/Album review/interview.  FFO: Apocalyptic, dark, warped yet original grim soundscapes. Let's first make this abundantly clear, there has not been any artist like Klavierkrieger in Australia. This is exceptionally unique dark art that will rip your head off. Its metal, its neoclassical brilliance with outstanding compositions and its exploration of the macabre merges well with the deeply extreme atmosphere that disintegrates all fake arse black metal contemporaries. Visually this one-man act defines what is a ritualistic performance and not in the lame blackened metal way that often is simply one lit candle on a speaker. Like wow to that..lol!, no Klavierkrieger is dedicated to the craft be it performances with tons of blood or destruction of a piano with sharp and brutal instruments that almost verged on mayhemic violence(see the link below, trust me it was one of my favourite live gigs ever!.). This is not metal cabaret, this ...