FAST AND SLOW: ANOTHER NCS COMP IS COMING

Remember that really long, really loud UK showcase comp we helped put out with GRIND TO DEATH and DIY Noise a little over a year ago? The one called The Only Good Tory? The one you can still download for free at the NCS Bandcamp page? Well, guess what? We’re doing it again — but with a few new wrinkles for Vol. 2.

Once again, Grind To Death’s Alex Layzell will be curating the comp, it will again be limited to UK bands, and he and I are both excited and grateful that Eduardo Carrillo of DIY Noise is going to be hand-making the tapes again, which is an exceptional thing since he has pretty much stopped putting out releases for other people. This time we’re also planning to have a printed zine and buttons to go along with the tapes, though we will again be making the music available for free download at the NCS Bandcamp.

But here’s the biggest new wrinkle: While our last comp was 100% grind and powerviolence, this time we’re going to have a “fast” side and a “slow” side. Half the runtime will be dedicated to grind/powerviolence bands and half will be dedicated to bands in the sludge/doom tarpit.

This seemed like a way to organically diversify the comp in a manner that’s representative of the ties between grind and sludge in the UK underground, though it will require more selectivity on Alex’s part — since our aim is to fit all the music on one tape without doing harm to the sound.

Once again, this will be a not-for-profit endeavor. The download will be free, and any tapes will be sold by DIY Noise at his cost. We’re aiming for a release in January 2014.

Alex has put out the word and has already fielded the names of a lot of interested bands, but if you’re in a UK grind or sludge band and are interested in this project, or if you know someone who is, this is the place to go to request consideration:

http://grindtodeath.com/contact/

We’ll keep you updated on the progress.