Below are a couple of noisy releases from the far-flung (and increasingly cyclone-battered) shores of Aotearoa New Zealand. Generally, when I write about metal or punk from my neck of the woods, I start by unpacking NZ’s image as a clean green paradise free of many of the wider world’s concerns. I do that to provide context and to note the circumstances influencing underground music in Aotearoa. But also because it’s always fun to call bullshit on the myths (aka transparent lies) that NZ sells to the rest of the world.
The truth is, we’ve got it all down under; rampant homelessness, a cost of living crisis, increasing gun crime, conspiratorial unrest, a meth epidemic, gangs running wild, widespread intergenerational poverty, crumbling infrastructure, staggering levels of racism, homophobia, and sexual violence, and a mental health catastrophe that’s playing out on city streets nationwide. I love living in NZ. But some days… holy shit!
Of course, the upside to living in a country that’s slowly but surely imploding (I’m sure you can relate to that bit) is that great music often emerges from the crucible of struggle and strife. I’ll grant you that’s a small payoff for living in the midst of a societal and environmental meltdown. But you’ve got to find your silver linings where you can, right?
Plenty of belligerent-sounding NZ bands rep the real deal, telling ugly stories about bad times and unpleasant outcomes. Below you’ll find three groups doing just that. Each explores a different vein of heavy music, but collectively, NZ’s myriad woes undoubtedly inspire them all. As the reliable adage suggests, the truth hurts; fittingly, the releases below are absolute neck-wreckers.
Soul Void / Brainwave – Horrifying New Form
Horrifying New Form is a four-song split release featuring Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington) metallic hardcore crew Brainwave and like-minded Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) death metal band Soul Void. Both groups have secured crossover fanbases at home, with Soul Void’s putrid metal proving popular with local punks and Brainwave’s anvil-heavy hardcore attracting plenty of Kiwi metal fans.
Brainwave’s contributions to Horrifying New Form – “It Never Ends” and “It Just Get Worse” – are obviously not happy-go-lucky odes to frolicking in the park. The band’s sub-genre of choice is über-dark hardcore, which they match with aptly grim lyrics. Musically, the violent escapades of Iron Age, Foreseen, or Mindforce make for good reference points. Brainwave’s 2020 debut, The Decline, was mastered by Arthur Rizk (Power Trip, Xibalba, etc.) and the EP was stacked with chest-pounding hardcore backed by thrash’s chug and churn. Brainwave’s latest heavyweight tracks also feature buzzsaw riffs, pounding percussion, and sulphuric-acid-strength vocals that’ll melt faces at fifty paces. Again, Brainwave deliver thundering tunes built for hardcore nerds and greasy-haired rivetheads alike.
Soul Void have banked three previous releases, including their 2020 Sacraments of Death EP, which was picked up for release outside NZ by New York label Frozen Screams Imprint. Soul Void’s heavy-ass death metal mixes the icier tones of Dismember and Entombed with the pungent groove of Autopsy and Obituary. As the titles of Soul Void’s Horrifying New Form contributions suggest – see “Maggot Hole” and “Cadaverous Abomination” – the band maintain a deep interest in all things foul and fetid (classic horror tropes being a mainstay). Soul Void carve out a gruesome trench, filling it with bloodthirsty instrumentation and guttural growls, and the band’s blend of bone-chilling and swampier influences features plenty of spine-crushing impact. (Also, that air-raid-siren solo on “Maggot Hole” is… *kisses the sky*.)
(Elimination Records, Razored Raw)
Dole Bludger – Demonstration Tape
For those who don’t live in Aotearoa New Zealand, the moniker of Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington) band Dole Bludger is a derogatory phrase used to describe folks who sit on their ass collecting unemployment. (Full disclosure; been there, done that, many times.) With a band name like that – accompanied by all of its pejorative connotations – it’ll come as no surprise that issues like poverty, overconsumption, dilapidated housing, poor mental health, crap food, shitty drugs, and cheap beer all feed into Dole Bludger’s hate-fuelled sound and vision. In other words – it’s a sludge punk party, yo!
Actually, Dole Bludger’s demo is more of a lo-fi crust + sewer hardcore + doom punk + blackened sludge party, but that doesn’t have such a snazzy ring to it. Sonically, think Ye Olde 90s sludge. Or Dystopia via Eyehategod. Gunk like that. Smashed out in a single day, Dole Bludger’s four-song demo is as acidic as cystitis and as filthy as pair of skid-marked undies discarded in the gutter. For those who live in countries where actual sidewalks are rarer, you’re missing out on a veritable New Zealand institution – spotting shit-stained pants on the street, what a treat!
The point is, Dole Bludger sound as gross as a shart. Fair warning, too, for anyone susceptible to migraines, Dole Bludger’s demo is wincingly raw. Of course, that’s also the point. Wretchedness and obnoxiousness are the primary vibes, with Dole Bludger’s songs tipping their hat to the aforementioned Dystopia and Eyehategod and the likes of Corrupted, Noothgrush, or Grief. For more Aotearoa-centric options, see bleak noise-merchants like Exterminator!, DÄHTM, Piggery, or the band that every down-tuned NZ group wants to be, legendary hope-smashers Meth Drinker (RIP).
Tracks like “Infection”, “Destructive Instinct”, and “Feasting Eyes” are unapologetically abrasive, with Dole Bludger’s vocalist Rachel’s throat-tearing howls being a high point. Guitarist Finn’s gruesome riffs crash against tooth-rattling bass and drums, but the sheer rawness of Dole Bludger’s demo also means it doesn’t make full use of the band’s potential heaviness.
Obviously, a lower-fi resonance is to be expected, given this is a quickly-tracked demo. More to the point, Razored Raw, the label releasing Dole Bludger’s demo, has released plenty of similarly red-raw recordings. Lo-fi-or-die is very much in keeping with Razored Raw’s aesthetic gamut, and that gut-driven way of working is undoubtedly one of the label’s best assets.
Ultimately, it’s best you hit play on Dole Bludger’s demo and decide if you can cope with the red-eyed, feedbacking noise therein. A recent interview with the band mentioned Dole Bludger were looking forward to getting their demo done and dusted so they could get stuck into writing new songs. That sounds like a good plan. The band’s demo is a solid start, but a new batch of tracks with even heavier production would be great to hear sooner rather than later. (That said, underground NZ bands reliably break up as soon as they show promise, so who knows what the future holds? But fingers crossed, eh.)
(Razored Raw)
