ESICASTIC

Band: ESICASTIC
Genres: Punk / Hardcore / Mathcore / Screamo / Skramz / Emo-violence / Experimental / Jazz
Related artists: ?.
Country: ???
Years Active: 2006
For fans of: Enkephalin, Letters In Binary, Dispensing Of False Halos, Ed Gein, The Great Redneck Hope, Campaign Committee, Crippled Children, and The Avenging Disco Godfathers Of Soul.
Label(s): Self Released

A few years back I downloaded the A Flower Kollapsed discography because Jesse Mowery said so. That band did a split in 2006 with an incredible that I can't find any other information about, and they were called ESICASTIC. Their two songs from the 'A Flower Kollapsed split' 7" are fucking awesome, and as far as I can tell, this set was the only material released by the band.

If you look for a history it's a tad confusing because there were at least one-to-two bands with the same name that preceded this band. A death metal Italian band did some demos in 1996 and 1998. Another band did something called 'The Atman Promo' in 2001 but it's mostly ambient music. So I've got to assume here that there are at least two, if not three bands with the same name that released just a few years apart. Either that or they drastically changed styles. And then waited five years to release two songs. Seems unlikely.

***I have been informed that this is the same band. But I have been unable to hear the 90s material and 'The Atman Promo' is not my jam at all.

The first of their two jams is titled "Vergogna" and is the clear-cut winner. Super shrieky, sassy, versatile, and all-around sick as fuck, there is a lot of Enkephalin jazz/mathcore going on. "Soggezione" is their final jam and is much more subdued, and sounds more like late 2000s screamo ala Deers! or even Caught In The Fall. Both songs will keep you guessing and generally transition on a dime to a totally different style. Very cool. Very obscure.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2006 - A Flower Kollapsed split 7" (download Esicastic side here)

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(2006) ESICASTIC - "Vergogna" (from 'A Flower Kollapsed split')

https://youtu.be/xsDVTjeRoQM

(2006) ESICASTIC - "Soggezione" (from 'A Flower Kollapsed split')

https://youtu.be/dkrARd-oCE8

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ECICASTIC out of print mp3 discography download

(download here)

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SINCE MY BELOVED

Band: SINCE MY BELOVED
Genres: Punk / Hardcore / Metal / Metalcore / Metallic Hardcore / Screamo / Black Metal
Related artists: ?.
Country: Fort Worth, Texas U.S.A.
Years Active: 2021-present
For fans of: Uziel, Dispensing Of False Halos, Converge, Binary, Poison The Well, In Reverent Fear, Between The Buried And Me, early Curl Up And Die, Crossed and Beneath The Ashes.
Label(s): Self Released

I didn't find out about this September 2021 EP 'The Sickness Called Despair​.​.​.' until probably December of the same year, so it was just able to squeak into my honorable mentions for 2021 (podcast linked here). The Texan four-piece play an awesome blend of metallic hardcore and goth/black metal that brings to mind Binary, Poison The Well (but with no clean singing) and Beneath The Ashes kinda rolled into one. 

Three bangers and a peaceful front porch interlude. Opener "Forgiveness is Waiting at the Bottom of the Well" sounds so much like Beneath The Ashes that I took a double-take, in the best possible way. Super sick metallic hardcore with lots of dark/gothy undertones and wretched vocals. "Compendium of My Misfortunes" follows and is probably my favourite track on here, as it dips into heartbroken Poison The Well-esque spoken word. And holy smokes that stop/start swing at the two-minute mark is fucking awesome. Title track "The Sickness Called Despair" is actually the lone instrumental interlude (kinda stoner 70s rock) followed by the closer "Sarah Kofman 10-15-94" which has the most screamo crossover as both Crestfallen and Dispensing Of False Halos immediately come to mind.

This is a most excellent debut EP and I'm definitely stoked to hear more!

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DISCOGRAPHY

2021 - The Sickness Called Despair​.​.​. digitalEP (stream/donate/download here)

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(2021) SINCE MY BELOVED - 'The Sickness Called Despair​.​.​.' (full album stream)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd0ooT8Rykw

(2021) SINCE MY BELOVED - First show full set (live/includes new song)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy6tbPjvcGA

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SINCE MY BELOVED additional links

Bandcamp

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PODCAST #81 Kyle Calvert & Steve Baril (Heathen Hand Records)

If you aren't aware of Heathen Hand Records yet I don't know where you've been. Opening with a Wreck Of The Minotaur discography co-release with Zegema Beach Records, these two friends (Kyle and Steve) have since been selling out of full 12" runs in a minute. Boasting both new and old material from the (generally) mathy, grindy, myspace trifecta, our newest co-release is the incredible Motel Bible 'Regression' discography that releases on February 1st, 2022. We discuss all of these things on this podcast as well as: having babies, pulling neck in the shower, the Barrio/Ontario scene, inner thigh tattoos, brainstorming label names, getting amped on Life, Steve's religious ambush and how to make him uncomfortable, the best bands Wax Vessel has shown us, Neon Hiss and AC love, pleasing Jack Shirley, opening for See You Next Tuesday, bands from Leeds, Mares Of Thrace, Wax Mage love, Motel Bible 'Regression' discography variant info and hilarious story, etc. Bands played in this podcast: Blacklisters, Irk, Life, Pretty Mouth, Senza, and Sugar Wounds. Listen to podcast #81 which is available to stream and/or download for free via this link.

HEATHEN HAND RECORDS

Website

Facebook

1

~no music

2

SENZA "Born of Dirt" (Steve)
SUGAR WOUNDS "Sugar Witch" (Kyle)
LIFE "i want to go home" (Dave)

3

~no music

4

PRETTY MOUTH "Resuscitation" (Kyle)
IRK "I Bleed Horses" (Steve)
BLACKLISTERS "Clubfoot By Kasabian" (Dave)

5

~no music

~Dave

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PODCAST #81 linked here
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Podcast #80 Dave Cullen (Crowning, Zegema Beach USA)

I'm Dave he's Dave we're Daves and Zegema Beach Records is our baby. USofDave (pictured above waiting for a response on the Orphan Donor 12"s) took some time to discuss his 2021, favourite splits, EPs and full lengths, and what he's aiming to do in 2022. I also seized this opportunity to post my favourite releases of the year as well. This podcast is split into a lot of smaller, chewable chunks. We touch on: buying houses, getting electrocuted, more vs. less space, celebrating Pissmas, destroying nativity scenes, lathes can be awesome, top 5 EPs/Splits, top 10 LPs, and tracks by our top picks. Bands played in this podcast: The Armed, Campbell Trio, New Grass, Opheliac, Riversleem, and Scenario. Listen to podcast #80 which is available to stream and/or download for free via this link.

CROWNING

Bandcamp

Facebook

ZEGEMA BEACH RECORDS

Bandcamp

Facebook

U.S.A. store

1

~no music

2

NEW GRASS "k-14_1.13" (USofDave)

3

RIVERSLEEM "Cavalier" (CanaDave)

4

SCENARIO "Departure" (USofDave)

5

OPHELIAC "wake up!" (CanaDave)

6

THE ARMED "Bad Selection" (USofDave)

7

CAMPBELL TRIO "Lesson Never Learned" (CanaDave)

~Dave

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PODCAST #80 linked here
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PODCAST #79 Chris Rodriguez (Massa Nera, Lacrima)

I met Christopher Rodriguez briefly in 2016 during the second/final мятеж tour at our New Jersey show. I was instantly impressed with their set (review/videos here) and ended up inviting them to the first Zegema Beach Records Fest that happened in Toronto during the summer of 2017. During that time Chris hit it off with me, my son, and all of Toronto. Chris is an awesome human being who is also incredibly talented, so talking with him after not seeing him since the 2019 ZBR Fest was fucking amazing. Love you, buddy! A lot of Massa Nera talk in this podcast as well as: meeting Mark Boulanger, the first/last show that he put on, introduction to Shizune, hyperpop, the rise and fall of dub-step, electronics in the new Massa Nera record, past and current members, playing the first ZBR Fest in 2017, Italian noodles, Arrows In Her, etc. Bands played in this podcast: Burial Etiquette, Commodo, Kidcrash, Mark Mothersbaugh, Mustaphamond, and Oli XL. Listen to podcast #79 which is available to stream and/or download for free via this link.

Also of note is that I, David Norman, will be on The Cast That Ends Creation later today at 5pm PST / 7pm CST / 8pm EST on Sunday January 9th, 2022. All the info is here if you wanna drop in on the chat via Twitch.

MASSA NERA

Bandcamp

Facebook

LACRIMA

Bandcamp

Facebook

1

no music

2

COMMODO "Loan Shark" (Chris)

MARK MOTHERSBAUGH (from the LIFE AQUATIC soundtrack) "Ping Island - Lightning Rescue Op" (Dave)

3

Kidcrash "Turtlelephant" (Chris)

MUSTAPHAMOND "Flammable Dreams for a Culture of Nightmares" (Dave)

4

OLI XL "Go Oli Go!" (Chris)

BURIAL ETIQUETTE "Promise" (Dave)

~Dave

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PODCAST #79 linked here
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PODCAST 78-B Steven Williams (Init Records)

Copy/Pasta? There you go. Init Records. Goddamn, what a label. Releasing some seriously sick screamo back in the early-mid 2000s and then shifting into metal afterward, Steven Williams has been booking shows and doing zines since he was like...13 in high school. He introduced my Canadian ass to some of my absolute favourite bands (Back When, Eyes Of Verotika, Examination Of The...) nearly 20 years ago so having him on the podcast was something else.

This podcast has two themes, Steven's "People that were in the scene that are no longer with us", and my "I'm gonna get Steven to like screamo again.", but with 78-B we get an amazing insight into the record store/plant industries that you won't get anywhere else. Seriously there are some very interesting and seldom discussed points that he brings up. The podcast was recorded in two parts, as my camera ran out of battery on October 24th. This is the second of those two parts, as Episode 78-A is linked up here.

In this part you can listen to us chat about: reconnecting and loss, Jimmy Eat World, most overlooked Init releases, label horror stories, the trouble with split releases, label miscommunications, record store day, plant back-ups and who are the culprits?, back to cds?, lathes, stock sweet spot, VAT changes, is there a thing as too much screamo?, Matt Davis' emo project, Wesley Willis, domain pirates, etc. Bands played in this podcast: The Crush, Eyelet, and Brazil. Listen to podcast #78-B which is available to stream and/or download for free via this link.

INIT RECORDS

Bandcamp

Facebook

4

THE CRUSH "Here is Where I Cross My Fingers" (Steven)

EYELET "See How You Writhe" (Dave)

5

no music

6

BRAZIL "Headlights" (Steven)

~Dave

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PODCAST #78-B linked here
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PODCAST #78-A Steven Williams (Init Records)

Init Records. Goddamn, what a label. Releasing some seriously sick screamo back in the early-mid 2000s and then shifting into metal afterward, Steven Williams has been booking shows and doing zines since he was like...13 in high school. He introduced my Canadian ass to some of my absolute favourite bands (Back When, Eyes Of Verotika, Examination Of The...) nearly 20 years ago so having him on the podcast was something else.

This podcast has two themes, Steven's "People that were in the scene that are no longer with us", and my "I'm gonna get Steven to like screamo again." The podcast was recorded in two parts, as my camera ran out of battery on October 24th. This podcast will also release in two parts, as the episode would otherwise nearly three-and-a-half hours long. Episode 78-A is up now, with 78-B following in three days.

In this part you can listen to us chat about: the evolution of merch, leftover stock, mixed bills, the passing of good friends, addictions, what is emo?, the true story about the formation of Init Records, why wasn't Steven in a band?, AmenRa worship, music falling into your lap, Level Plane and screamo drying up, hating everything vs. being nice, favourte/most special Init release, Buried Inside love, favourite Canadian screamo band, winning Juno awards, Ken Mode should be bigger, what speed is a Melt Banana record?, etc. Bands played in this podcast: Cape Light, Caligari, Être and The Hareste. Listen to podcast #78-A which is available to stream and/or download for free via this link.

INIT RECORDS

Bandcamp

Facebook

1
CALIGARI "A Novelist in a Novel" (Steven)

2

CAPE LIGHT "Yowatari" (Dave)

3

THE HARESTE "Reactions Fail" (Steven)

ÊTRE "Blau auf Blau" (Dave)

~Dave

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PODCAST #78-A linked here
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