From the dank swamps of the Bayou land comes a double dose of filth on this dirty little split 7”. Helmed by the Paranoize label which also runs an awesome, seminal zine this slick release introduces a pair of bands that have been kicking around in the underground for a bit now. WOORMS rams noise-rock/sludge/post-hardcore together in a moody, atmospheric brew while A Hanging comes from the hardcore crust/thrash side of the tracks.
WOORMS chime in first and their opener “The Math Says Yes” rams together The Jesus Lizard, Eyehategod and Neurosis into a swampy hodgepodge full of shifting musical personalities. The lengthy build up is full of swarming guitar FX that stings like a black cloud of killer bees while a steady beat and bluesy, sludge-dipped bass lines ratchet up the intensity. The trio is heavy on cosmic weirdness and Joey Carbo’s stinging guitar chords and pedal board bear traps ensnared my ears immediately. It takes 3 winding minutes before a bloated sludgy doom riff, hysterical shouting/screamed vocals and the earthy rhythms of bassist John Robinson and drummer Aaron Polk lock onto a groove. Said groove is interrupted by burst fire, chugging staccato hardcore punk nastiness enlivened by craggy, jarring percussive slaps that eventually tumbles back into its chosen riff-y sleaze. These cats only have one track on the split and it’s by far the longest, whetting my appetite to check out their other single releases.
A Hanging occupies the remainder of Side A and all of Side B, offering a completely different vibe than WOORMS. Their first contribution “A Graft” throws together punk era-COC, fellow NOLA hardcore punk sludgers Hawg Jaw, Slayer and Discharge into a flurry of thrash riffs, Swedish d-beat, palm-muted guitar madness and dueling shouted/growled vocals. It’s simple, to the point and potent; hitting you in the head with a bag of bricks then switching to a cinderblock to keep the beatings going. “Document” is barely over a minute in length and manages to somehow be faster than its predecessor until a crumbling, throbbing sludge riff break midway through changes the proceedings up when your ears need it most. Their final burner “Winter’ utilizes churning stop/start hardcore breaks when it’s not going crust thrashing mad with plenty of killer little Slayer via Discharge-esque guitar runs giving way to a speedy, shrieking solo. A Hanging doesn’t waste anytime but the material was memorable for me. I’ll certainly keep an eye out for some of their other releases as the only thing I’ve heard prior was the demo which featured a more straightforward hardcore element as far as my memory is concerned.
This schizophrenic split’s a great introduction to both bands. Fans of that patented NOLA brutality will certainly find something to please their ears here and for my money both bands are on the way to leaving their mark in that great swampy pantheon. There’s some absolutely killer artwork on this thing as well that is sure to go down well with ugly eye candy aficionados.
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