This story is a nice continuation of the recent interview with LLNN and GRIM VAN DOOM. I’m extremely proud to give you PISS VORTEX, another killer bands from Copenhagen, Denmark, who’s been around for 3 years now and are finally releasing their debut full length album. Its essential character, very natural feel and chaotic nature shines through, which gives this addictive record feeling of authenticity that many of the modern grinding bands can’t manage.
Formed 2011 in Copenhagen, PISS VORTEX is as unrelenting and intense as uniquely different from the rest of their native scene. The band’s sound can be described as an abrasive amalgamation of the blastbeat driven fury of old-school grindcore, the filthy twang of noise rock and the mind-bending intricacy of early-00’s chaotic hardcore. The self-titled debut album from PISS VORTEX is a hectic tour de force in relentless creativity, blinding aggression and off-the-wall musicianship, leaving the listener to waste through its 14 tracks and 23 minutes of playing time.
This self-titled monument will be released as 12” LP in two editions, 350 black and 150 piss yellow, and will also be available digitally worldwide on all relevant online platforms. The two vinyl editions is now available for pre-order at Indisciplinarian’s web shop (here and here). PISS VORTEX will play a release show in their hometown of Copenhagen, DK on November 8th.
Read my interview with Rasmus and Christian (also of LLNN, and ex-THE PSYKE PROJECT) below.
Live photo by Kasper Rebien.
Hey guys! What’ up? I’ve just listened to your newest track “Those Who Labor” and I’m literally devastated. Splitting our heads to pieces, these tunes should be banned, haha! How many teasers are there till to come before you make the whole album available for the masses?
Christian: This should be the last one. But I think that we’re doing a full album stream at some point before the record is released.
Are you proud of the final effect of your hard work?
Rasmus: Naturally. I can’t wait for people to refer to it as our “awesome ground-breaking debut” a few years from now, when we’re playing bullshit radio rock.
Haha, awesome! How long, in all, did it take to write and record?
Christian: It probably didn’t take too long if I recall correctly, once we really got started. But we are a slow band, usually because our rehearsals tend to be party-oriented, so we always end up jamming METALLICA or funk songs in drunken stupors.
How did you connect with the rest of the crew involved in the process, the producer, and the mainman behind the mastering?
Rasmus: Christian worked with our producer, recording wizard Jakob Reichert Nielsen – also known as Snake – on the LLNN record, and was really positive about the whole experience. Snake has a background in the Copenhagen hardcore scene and seemed a natural fit for us. He recommended that we have Brad Boadright master the album and hooked it up for us.
What were the overall challenges of getting this record made? Were there any at all?
Christian: The biggest challenge of the record was recording it. Recording this kind of stuff live in 3 days is fucking stupid. But we did it anyway and that means we have to do so from now on. It requires so much attention and concentration that we were drooling idiots by the end of each day.
What is the significance of the album’s cover art?
Rasmus: There is no real intended significance to the artwork, which was done by our good friend Jesper Christoffersen, but we’d love to hear your interpretation. Personally, I think it resembles a pile of bodies buried in a mudslide, but really, it just looks cool.
Is this new record autobiographical?
Christian: I wouldn’t say so, well I guess in some way it is. A lot of the lyrics are based on bizarre stories we’ve heard from friends/experienced or a general distaste of work. One song is about eating cake, but in ”death metal English”, we found that pretty hilarious.
How did you get involved with noisy grinding in the first place? Was the genre always your favourite niche in the world of heavy music?
Rasmus: To me personally, yes. Generally, we all just share an affinity for aggressive and uncompromising music, in all sorts of different shapes and I think the different influences show on the record.
What events led to the creation of the band back in 2011? How did PISS VORTEX form?
Christian: Well, Rasmus had been in contact with our drummer Niclas for some time and I just sort of invited myself to the party. Rasmus and I used to play together in a band and we’ve always talked about playing something more extreme. When Niclas entered the picture it was the perfect opportunity to do so. Later (I can’t recall when) we invited Simon (vocals) to join in on the fun. He used to play guitar in this really underrated death-whatever band here in Denmark called THE GHOSTNAME and would occasionally do backup vocals, which we really liked.
What kind of reaction did you get when you started performing in Denmark? How popular is grindcore in your area?
Rasmus: By the time we started playing gigs, something like a scene for pure, balls-out grindcore in Copenhagen had emerged; simultaneously, the same had happened for chaotic and, to a certain extent, atmospheric hardcore. Although we’re all friends in some capacity – Copenhagen isn’t that big of a city after all – the two rarely mix musically, so I guess we’re like the awkward middle child of Danish extreme music. The one that’s really good at weird stuff like trigonometry and drawing dicks on lunchboxes.
What is the Copenhagen hardcore/metal scene like at this point? Any underrated artists you’d like to promote here?
Christian: I think it’s great! There are lots of cool people playing their own brand of crazy music. We support each other and the scene really feels very vibrant and alive right now. If I should recommend anything it would probably be MÄRESVIN, KLUSTERFUCK, AJUNA, WHORLS, NO FEALTY, ARAKK and ÉGLISE.
Great, thanks! How do you see your development as musicians over this short period of time? What artists influenced you growing up artistically?
Rasmus: I don’t know if any specific artists influenced us as a functioning unit. We’re all constantly pushing the limits of our abilities to make the Vortex as unappealing as possible, so in that sense a lot of the development comes from stepping out of our comfort zones and testing new ideas, perspectives, questioning tired songwriting conventions and so on. Oh, and arguing for weeks over three-second filler riffs. That’s the best part.
Ok guys. Who will be joining you guys at yur release show in Copenhagen on November 8th? Any details about the gig you’d like to share?
Christian: Not right now, but we are working on getting some of our all-time heroes to play together with us and I’m really fucking excited about that!
Are you hitting the road big time to get more followers and take advantage of the hype about your debut LP?
Rasmus: I imagine there will be some touring in and outside of Denmark, yes. The extent of this is still not determined at this point, but we are working on bringing the noise right to your doorstep as soon as possible. Yes, YOUR doorstep. No one is safe.
Ok buddies, one more. Are there more bands you’re involved in? Do you work on more than one project at a time?
Christian: Yeah, we’re all busy. Rasmus plays in a great grindcore band called UDS on the side, they just released their first ep and it’s terrific. Simon plays in “unnamed rockband” who recently got asked to find a new name because of some stupid ass copyright infringement or some shit like that. The best way to describe them would be if LED ZEPPELIN used a time machine in the 60’s to travel to now, listened to KVELERTAK and decided to strip away the metal elements. Niclas is always busy with stuff. Right now I think he’s working on some kind of THE LOCUST like project that’s batshit insane. I used to play guitar in THE PSYKE PROJECT which we recently disbanded and now I play guitar and yell in a band called LLNN.
Thanks so much for your time! Feel free to drop in your last words! Cheers!
Rasmus: Thank you for supporting PISS VORTEX. Never stop the madness.
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The self-titled debut album from PISS VORTEX is the result of three years of experimentation, writing and shaping what has now taken form into 14 crushing tracks on the album’s 23 minutes of playing time. Produced by Jakob Reichert Nielsen (Lack, Rising, Anti Ritual a.o.) and mastered by Brad Boatright (no introduction needed), the album is a hectic tour de force in relentless creativity, blinding aggression and off-the-wall musicianship. This band doesn’t give a single fuck about genre conventions, but solely strives to write, record and perform absolutely crushing progressive music while fucking with all minds within earshot – including their own – in the process. / Indisciplinarian
Piss Vortex plays a very sludgy and dirty version of grindcore that is interestingly spliced with an almost Gorguts flavor of technicality and dissonance. It’s an intriguing mix, particularly with the more stereotypical grindcore-length songs. The Gorguts influences keep you on your toes, and the blistering grind mentality will have you fighting the urge for destruction throughout the album. Tracks like “Of Body and Filth” open with some chilling dissonance and off kilter atmosphere only to erupt into violence of sludgy, filthy riffs and acidic screams. These allow the more straightforward and shorter length tracks like “Voice of the Worthless” and “Altered State” from becoming too standard and instead offer some quick blasts of anger. The final track, the 5 minute “Our Maker’s Invisible Hand,” does standout in its atmosphere and slow burn. It’s commendable to a band of this variety that they can pull off the short bursts as well as more of a controlled chaos. / Dead Rhetoric
Danish grinders Piss Vortex aim to spread their angular, mind-bending filth to every ear drum across the planet with their self-titled debut record. Grindcore has always been a dirty, angry beast, but Piss Vortex‘s version of grindcore is disfigured and purely deranged. The album’s 14 tracks seem to have been ripped from the pages of Steeve Hurdle-era Gorguts and fed through an aggressive grind and chaotic hardcore filter. The instrumentation constantly shifts and bends throughout the album’s 24 minute duration. The tracks often vary in speed and structure but are all marred by discordance and ugliness. The guitars churn out flesh-ripping riffs that are soaked in dissonance and psychosis and are paired with bellowing bass lines and erratic drumming. / American Aftermath
For a debut album from a band with less than 500 likes on Facebook, Piss Vortex runs the risk of being criminally overlooked. These Danish genre dodgers play their own brand of fucked up sludge that is as aggressive as it is atmospheric and as virile as it is violent. Thousands of music lovers will appreciate the musings of Piss Vortex, they just need to hear them first. / Heavy Blog Is Heavy
