SLASHER RISK "Chillers" c64 (Baked Tapes)

Slasher Risk are awesome. And while I’m still waiting patiently for them to record and release a full-on rock n roll LP (you know that would fucking rule) I’m content to listen to them disregard all the rules when it comes to sound pollution.
This cassette on Baked Tapes, the imprint of Jesse DeRosa of Grasshopper, the best trumpet duo you’ll ever hear by the way, is a heavy, hour-plus, unbridled brick of volume. Window-rattling, wall-shaking volume; at least I’m assuming the windows were rattling and the walls were shaking wherever this thunder was recorded. The title is a red herring, case you didn’t notice. The Slasher Risk cocktail Chillers is 1 part drums, 1 part guitar and, I don’t know, 4 or 5 parts feedback. I’m pretty sure this is a single live set which is pretty insane too. I don’t know what more to say really, these guys are good and they’re loud. If you don’t know ‘em, fix that.
Now where’s that rock n roll record?
Still available from the label.

Baked Tapes
Slasher Risk <--- Check out the track "Brooklyn" here for evidence of how bad ass a Slasher Risk rock and roll record would be. Do I need to start a petition or something? jeez...

SLASHER RISK "Richard's Blood" c20 (Heavy Psych Recordings)

I've heard a bunch o' buzz about Slasher Risk so i was psyched to see this tape in the pile of 'to review.' What's even better is I was listening to it at about 3:30 in the morning on headphones, can't think of a better listening environment.

The tape is two live sides, each 10 minutes, side one from Silent Barn in their hometown of brooklyn, the second side a little further up I95 @ AS220 in providence.
The first side, though it's their hometown, sounds like they're terrifying and torturing the audience a lot more than side two, part of this is because you can actually hear the audience. The band sounds really intense and intestine eating, with a barrage of electronics, drums and guitars hitting the audience right in the kisser.

The big down side is the audible audience intensity is definitely compromised by the recording quality making you feel like you're listening from the back of the room, like you can see limbs flying, teeth hitting the ceiling fan and toenails being chewed, you're just on the other side of the room. The second side has more or less the same ups and downs, but with a more prominent vocal / guitar sound and a bit higher quality recording.

These sides haven't necessarily revealed to me what the sonics of the band are due to the recording quality, but it is definitely evidence that these folks would be an intense live band and presumably an awesome listen with a little better engineering.

Printed in an edition of 50.
black and white cover with blood red label on white tapes.
Sold Out from the label:
http://www.heavypsychrec.blogspot.com/

SLASHER RISK “Vole” (Abandon Ship Records)

AWESOME. I love when I throw on a tape and in the first 5 seconds can already tell I love it. Never heard this band before but obviously they have a sweet name and fortunately the audio doesn’t disappoint. Their style seems to bury a low, thudding drum machine rhythm (or, if it ain’t a machine, it sure sounds like it) deep in the mix and then let loose roiling, driving briar patches of blazing lo-fi feedback on top of it. The subliminal beat keeps the chaos in motion and makes things feel like they’re building to some grand finale (which they sort of aren’t, but whatever). The second of the two A siders totally kills, garage kraut cruising into a black-and-red wasteland of electricity and good times. Shit gets heavily blown out in parts, but the speaker-fry is definitely a key ingredient in Slasher Risk’s crash-n-burn cauldron. Interestingly, the B track totally deviates from the fury of the A, rumbling through a ten-miles-wide cavernous warehouse of resonant metal and evocative emptiness. If the whole tape sounded like this I’d probably get sleepy/bored, but as a cleanser to the first side I’m alright with it. Overall though: give this dude/dude crew a B+ or something, I wanna hear more.

REVERSE MOUTH / SLASHER RISK Split (Phase!)

Reverse Mouth is the duo of Panagiotis Spoulos and Sofia Zoitu who hail from Athens, Greece. Spoulos also runs the Phase! label which issued this release. "Negative Cutter" is a slab of minimal amplifier abuse, heavy on guitar feedback and effects twitching. It has some good ear-wincing moments, but the second half runs out of steam too soon. Brooklyn-based Slasher Risk (currently on tour in Europe) offer an extremely muddy four-on-the-floor stomp a la Punks with "American Football Fux." Disco beats, smoky riffage and thanks to the squalid recording a liberal dose of "???"