Devil's Horns Zine

  Backhand-Gentrification is Genocide EP/Demo. FFO: Killer political and awesome hardcore punk. Wow, what an impressive release, man it takes me back to the peak of '90s Hardcore and also some of the most incredible Aussie bands like Flycop and Blitz Babiez etc. And it drips in emotion given the necessary topics it focuses on such as racism, sexism, domestic violence and human rights. And I always think hardcore should be political and confronting. This is seven tracks of in-your-face sociopolitical hardcore gold. The whole release is very representative of super tight American-style hardcore (or Toe to Toe style tbh!!) with utterly pissed-off vocals as shown in the hectic opener Fit of Rage. Yes, this is real stompy/moshy hardcore with a message with no tracks over two mins. The release at its core is super raging and chunky hardcore, but hey given the lyrical content, that's fair. And kudos to them for addressing real social issues as opposed to all those trendy bands finding...

  Irreparable-Complete Emptiness EP. FFO: Extremely well crafted and grim gothic/darkwave/black metal brilliance. By Mark Jenkins. We rather belatedly reviewed their 2019 dazzling debut-Transfixion in October 2022, and it still holds up as one of that year's best releases. We review heaps of releases and my absolute bugbear or issue with most releases is they have no soul or emotion. Literally cogs in the mass music machine. So when I got this release, the anticipation was massively high and this beast delivers. This band is a pure incredible dark force that are masters at their genre. Complete Emptiness is five tracks of unhinged, but masterful grim audio violence. Very broadly it is a deeply gothic-influenced dark wave metal band, that is perfectly underpinned by raw black metal, almost war metal(minus all the crypto-fash bullshit) and is driven by manic programmed drums and beats; giving it an apocalyptic and quite industrial theme/tone. So very much my fave type of band-unclass...

BulletBelt Reviews by Devil's Horns Zine  (By Mark J). You know the drill, straight up no bullshit reviews like the zines of old. No fancy writing, just straight-up facts. Four killer releases here, all bangers!!!. AGLO-INTO THE MAZE. Wow, what a refreshingly punishing EP. This is a one-man project, be it an utter fucking legend Aaron Osborne of many incredible bands and Aglo is a very sci-fi-based death/doom/sludge masterpiece. Into the Maze is six tracks of erosive and foul heavy riffs with some wicked samples and fantastic songwriting. Another key selling point is it veers away from some of the mindless repetitive doom and sludge that seems to pop up in every second gig in Melbourne. Indeed there is a huge groove and utter Eyehategod/Sabbath worship, but it also builds on from Aaron's iconic I Exist band. The scope of the tracks is broad, intense and alluring. The guitar wizardry is wild and often the vocals sound like Bolt Thrower becoming a Doom band, yes please sir!. The...

Choof-Dimwitted Amoral Exploitation EP and Interview with Jake. FFO: Unrelenting PV/Grind and Chaos!. Melbourne supreme obnoxious merchants of filth, riffs and sludgy powerviolencegrind CHOOF have finally dropped their debut EP and it's a ripper. The demo was fun but definitely didn't match the fierceness of their live shows. So what is on show here you ask, well imagine a stoner/sludgy version of Axiom (Portland's 90's killer Scandi crust band) covering Apartment 213(early 2000's unbeatable powerviolence/grind dark purveyors of nihilistic brutality). Add multiple layers of perverted fetish porn mixed with the most degenerate serial killer tales, and pour this on your early 20s sharehouse rank carpet infused with repugnant bong stains and delectable vomit infusions. Hell yes!. The eight tracks are solid, energetic and all exceptionally well written. Blasphemous Execution like most tracks is a short, sharp shotgun blast to your groin; but it starts off with unhinged...

 BulletBelt Reviews by Devil's Horns Zine  (By Mark J). You know the drill, straight up no bullshit reviews like the zines of old. No fancy writing, just straight-up facts. Five killer releases here, all bangers!!!. Illmatic-Watching the World Burn. This Detroit megaforce dropped this debut earlier in the year and prepare your ears to be blown out; this is loud and dope as fuck. 10 tracks of tough-as-hell hardcore mixed with Hip Hop style in the vein of Downset etc. But this ain't a pale imitation of that genre, this has the realest lyrics, the brilliant song composition and the fattest riffs. Everything is dominated by a first-class rhythm section, that is memorable and forceful as hell. The drive on this is wicked and definitely has that solid Biohazard/Body Count vibe. Definitely no weak tracks on this beast, but Rat Traps, Trife Life, and No Justice No Peace were the most exceptional. As well as a well-matched production that lets the music flow in a live performance style...

  Maximum Strength-Quantified Self review. FFO: Moody, deep- industrial glory!!!. We review a fair spread of genres here. Still, me-as in Mark is really deep into cathartic, borderline insane dark explorations of audio that push boundaries-hence I am 100% devoted to Napalm Death, Amenra, Acacia Strain and Godflesh, etc. Maximum Strength, hailing from Washington state delivers all these vibes, plus murky pastiches of old-school industrial gods like Neubauten and Skinny Puppy in a most glorious way. It is totally dark and depressive as fuck. AND EVERY SECOND IS UTTERLY GLORIOUS. THIS IS SHIT YOU WIG OUT TO IN THE DARK TO.  THIS DEFINES EPIC MUSIC!!! I really adore the spiel or manifesto of this band: Music is a drug. A technology of consciousness alteration. Maximum Strength is an exploration of the ways sound can be used to alter consciousness. Always changing, every working is an experiment. Hallelujah and praise to people that are passionate devotees to music, not fake arse l...