Body Void (Prostethic Records) originally formed in the spring of 2014 as Devoid with the aim to combine the most extreme elements of hardcore punk and doom metal. Since changing their name in 2016 with the release of their full-length debut, Ruins, they’ve continued to evolve and progress. In 2021 they signed to Prosthetic Records and released their third LP, Bury Me Beneath This Rotting Earth, incorporating power electronics and drone into their sound.
In 2023, they returned with their most caustic and unhinged work to date. On their fourth full-length Atrocity Machine, the trio turned further toward noise and industrial. Inspired by acts such as Wolf Eyes, Pharmakon, and Killing Joke they contorted their pulverizing style of doom to fully embody the nightmarish reality of a country seemingly built only to exploit and punish.
The band has remained more active than ever in recent years. They’ve maintained a consistent tour schedule since 2021, hitting the road with the likes of Primitive Man, Uniform, Portrayal of Guilt, Mortiferum, Jarhead Fertilizer, Spirit Possession, Elizabeth Color Wheel, and OvO, and appeared at such festivals as Roadburn, Oblivion Access, and Levitation. In 2023, the band added Jacob Lee (Elder Devil, Keeper, Hellish Form) to their live edition becoming a four piece.
Eye Flys (Thrill Jockey Records) are a quintessentially Philadelphian band whose aggressive brand of noise rock is leading a wave of bands that harken back to classic era AmRep noise rock. Their rage is palpable and their wit is biting. Hailing from a city with a rich history of labor activism, long associated with the hard working, the underdog, the everyman. The trio’s grounded nature, one of whom is an active trade union member, imbues their music with a distinctive fearlessness and honesty. Their acerbic wit swiftly whittles matters down to their element, often reveling in the perverse humor of our current state of being. Eye Flys are unsparingly heavy, driven by the colossal rhythm section of bassist Kevin Bernsten and drummer Patrick Forrest. Vocalist/guitarist Jake Smith delivers sharp humor with a healthy dose of venom and bile with each bestial growl while his dirty riffs roar at you. Recorded by Bernsten at his own Developing Nations studio (Full of Hell, Integrity, Jarhead Fertilizer) and J Robbins’ The Magpie Cage, the band’s self-titled album features artwork drawn by artist and drummer John Herndon (Tortoise), known for his singular drawings and his band’s iconic TNT cover.
Eye Flys wades deeper into the muck and mire of modern living to take an unflinching look at the horrors of late-stage capitalism and offer a caustic remedy for its ravages. Expanding on their bludgeoning debut Tub of Lard, Eye Flys is lean and aggressive, fast and unforgiving. “Trepanation Summer”’s ferocious riffs bore directly into the skull, mimicking the crude pressure release of the ancient surgical process of the same name, Smith crying to “release the pressure” from within a wall of feedback. “Sleep Forever” throws down a thrashing, infernal groove, demolishing all in its path as Smith’s craggy guitar figures rise like toxic smoke from the devastation. “Draining Pus” revels in septic sludge, while “Bananarchy Zoo” manages to strip things down to an even more lean and incisive realization of the trio’s punishing sonic palette, in an exploration of Smith’s love/hate relationship with his Florida roots.
A wall of rippling noise and distortion run as connecting threads through the album, the band’s acerbic humor and raw emotion capturing the perspective and the frustration of the hardworking everyman. The band grapples with the repercussions of coping strategies with healthy skepticism and an eye on the gallows. Eye Flys offers a reassuring reminder that you haven’t gone mad and you’re not alone – that weird ‘n’ heavy music is still here as a respite from the madness of modern living and an outlet for righteous rage.
eyeflys.bandcamp.com
Arena Vienna / Dreiraum / adv 18 € / 20.00h
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