Mindflayer

Mindflayer are the ferocious noise-metal brainchild of Lightning Bolt drummer Brian Chippendale and Forcefield noisemaker Mat Brinkman. This statement alone is all the proof you really need that Mindflayer are a thunderously extreme force to be reckoned with, since both of these dudes’ main groups have been bringing the heat since the free-noise shit hit the fan in Providence, Rhode Island in the late ’90s. Recorded live in 2003, Die + Mold is the most mind-searing offering from Mindflayer yet, going just beyond their previous two albums, 2003’s Take Your Skin Off and the early jams collection It’s Always 1999, for sheer heart attack levels of intensity. Consisting of two sidelong tracks, this 1000-pressing vinyl-only album moves through a constant flux of free-noise movement that never loses its powerful grip. Chippendale’s drums (and his occasional garbled and distorted vocals) careen and stutter about his kit’s stratosphere like a prisoner hell-bent on slam-dancing his way out of his cell as Brinkman’s metallic squeals and bass-tones cut through your consciousness like a sonic saw blade. This is merciless abuse from one of free-noise’s most inspirational acts, and fans of extreme music will appreciate its every punch and slice.