Agathocles

The Peel Sessions 1997

Written by: PP on 13/07/2010 13:24:52

Time for a grindcore afternoon, dear readers, if you're not into extreme metal you should probably skip through the next couple of reviews for your the sake of your ears. First up is Belgium's Agathocles, who visited late John Peel in BBC Radio Studios back on March 30th, 1997 to record an album worth of songs in one take, to be aired live on his radio show. Prior to his death, Peel was famous for inviting bands and artists of every imaginable kind for live sessions of this kind, known as "The Peel Sessions". Even brutal grindcore bands like Agathocles were part of his huge family. However, why this is being released 13 years later when vocalist Jan is the only original member remaining in the band, I have no idea.

While it's enticing to discover a grindcore band from the most extreme end to be featured on the radio waves, one's left hoping it could've been a much better act than Agathocles. Genre stereotypes are thrown left and right, ranging from the 30 second track lengths to the play-as-fast-as-you-humanly-can attitude to writing songs, plus the vocals are retarded. Brutal growling is one thing, but gargling like a fucking zombie with a gaping hole in the middle of his throat is something else. I guess that's why the band is often dubbed as 'mincecore'. Luckily, they compensate with decent groove on at least a couple of tracks, but despite this band's supposedly legendary status within grindcore, I'm just not buying it. They may have influenced a number of bands through their ultra-extreme sound, which is only highlighted by the live production, but the truth is that even within grindcore, there are dozens if not hundreds of bands better than Agathocles.

4

Download: Thetric Symbolisation Of Life
For the fans of: Archagathus, Sakatat, Regurgitate
Listen: Myspace

Release date 23.03.2010
Selfmadegod Records

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