HIVESMASHER

Now here's a fuckin' band that is a great breath of fresh air in the grindcore/death metal scene.  Finally, a grind band that is tolerable to listen to, and are virtuosos on all their instruments.  Their myspace headline reads "music for people who don't like anything", I don't think any statement could fit any better for these guys.


The name Hivesmasher suits them well, as the tone of their music is comparable to bees swarming out of their hive.  The guitar tone is high and tight, the bass guitar sounds meaty and gritty, but still packs a powerful punch with the low end.  The drummer in this band is absolutely incredible, his style of drumming reminds me of some really complex jazz/fusion, and it fits the music perfect.  The vocalist sounds similar to J.R. Hayes of Pig Destroyer and Jon Chang from Discordance Axis.  His high pitched screaming vocals combined with the killer bee guitar sound and the gritty bass, and the technical jazzy drumming complete this band in a flawless manner.


Each song I hear by these guys are all out of this world.  Frenzied technical fretboard mastery isn't something this band strays away from, and they're a band that can pull off wanking on their fretboards, but still have the listener able to hear what's going on, nothing gets mudded up, which seems to be a big problem with a lot of the newer bands coming out today.  These guys can PLAY their instruments, and do a damn good job at it as well.  I feel there's too many bands who don't put the grunt work in on their music and make it tighter and tighter.  Well, Hivesmasher are tighter than a nun's cunt.  When they aren't covering the sound of a swarm of a trillion killer bees, they're playing you a nice groovy breakdown, but not breaking into any other 'core' aside from grindcore.  You won't find anything close to resembling hardcore, metalcore, deathcore, mathcore, or any other kind of fucking CORE that has been breeding in the metal scene for the past couple of years.


Yes, Hivesmasher are another band from Boston that have a great following and loyal fans.  I haven't had the privilege to see these guys live yet, but from what I hear, they put on a great show, have tons of energy, and sound just as good if not better than they do on CD.  I urge you to buy their album, Ascension Into Dismal Stages.  These guys have busted their asses to make some of the best grindcore in Masscahusetts, and it puts a lot of the grindcore in the rest of the world to shame.  If you can't find the album in stores, or can't afford it for one reason or another, you may download it here.


Check 'em out, smoke crack, hail Satan, support local music, and above all else, keep it fucking metal.


-Pat