In an effort to take the award for the most depraved and unsettling album of 2017, Washington state underground lords ROT MONGER, INFRABLASTER, and HONEY BADGER have teamed up for a 3-way split album to set the pace for powerviolence and grindcore in 2017. A concept in the works for a full year, this split has been building a strong buzz for almost all of 2016, and we are proud to cooperate with Blackhouse Records on this unpredictable project and present it to you in all its glory. More extreme than anything you’d imagine, this collaborative effort is a flawless, narcotic display of violent bursts of grindcore and fascinating craft of technical performance. Listen now and leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
ROT MONGER / INFRABLASTER / HONEY BADGER split is available on February 22nd via Blackhouse Records, Cobraside and Alliance Distribution, Cargo Records and Universal/UNI.
The mastermind behind the project, Benjamin Hall, the drummer of HONEY BADGER and ROT MONGER shared his thoughts on the project:
We walked into the studio and our only intention was to get as fucked up as possible because nobody else records on mushrooms, so we might as well be the kids who are tougher than everybody else. These aren’t just shitty grind songs though, these are songs about childhood trauma, alcoholism, and basically every negative emotion someone can feel. Dark times wrote these songs and it was a celebration to be recording them with my best friends. Every band eventually does a split, but I can’t think of many bands who have recorded a split all in the same day and in the same room while chugging whiskey, snorting blow, and making sure the drummers aren’t eating more mushrooms.
Matt Ellertson of INFRABLASTER commented:
“For me, this record represents a giant leap into playing a new genre. I’ve been listening to grind and powerviolence for years up until joining Infrablaster, but this band is my first time playing and writing it. This has been incredibly cathartic for me personally. These songs represent the most pissed off thing I’ve ever done.”
His bandmate Mike Ellertson offered the following:
“This record has definitely been an interesting one for me in more ways than one. This is my first experience playing heavy music (not to say that I’ve never paid attention or gone to the shows). I’ve played in punk bands and shit, so not only has it been fantastic fucking fun taking my experiences playing in bands to the next level in a new setting, but it’s been a learning experience as well. One for which I’ve had the dopest teachers. I’m really stoked for what the future holds and how many faces we’ll get to wreck this coming year.”
Ace Michel, also of INFRABLASTER:
” This material for me is basically about the day to day struggle and the substance abuse that serves as the lubrication for it. I also think these songs represent where we started to find our niche for our style and song writing.”
Devon Jensen of both INFRABLASTER and HONEY BADGER concluded:
“So pretty much what I have to say about it is it is probably the most pissed off thing I’ve ever recorded to date and is a a strong step in the direction we are going for sound wise and structure wise. The whole recording process was one crazy night of noise, drugs, booze, every emotion you can think of and facing/defeating personal demons that I deal with outside of the band/without playing music. It was a huge release for me and I feel like a learned a lot about myself, my friends, and my band. As for future plans for the band, we plan on release a few demos and hopefully a full length album by the end of 2017 and of course GRIND TIL DEATH.”
