Engineering and / or Producing Credits: Kurt Ballou

Aside from playing guitar for Converge (who I could never really get into... maybe cuz of all the hype from the youngins, I dunno) Kurt Ballou owns God City studio and has recorded / produced / engineered / played as a studio musician for a whole fuckin slew of bands. Here are a few of them that I like... Some other good ones that aren't one this list include: Limp Wrist, Doomriders, Pg99, Coliseum, and a shitload of others.

Seizures In Barren Praise by Trap Them. Heavy as fuck metal / hardcore hybrid with guitar tones ripped right outta Stockholm circa 1990 (think Dismember or Entombed). Drums range from d-beats to near blast speed and song titles continue along the same theme set on their earlier releases (Day XX) . Great album, if you ain't heard this one yet make sure to give it a listen. Kurt Ballou produced, recorded, and did some guitar / bass work on this one.
Active: 2001-current Hometown: Salem, NH / Seattle, WA Released: 2008
Myspace
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Chaos Is Me by Orchid. Chaotic four piece screamo / hardcore. Volatile screams over aggressive hardcore with vague lyrics and literary references. To quote Ebullition's site "music to keep the kids screaming and dancin' whether they are Romulan emo kids or crusty Klingons". Geeze. Picked up their S/T Lp the other day, which is just as good as this record. Recorded by Kurt Ballou at God City.
Active: 1997-2002 Hometown: Amherst, Massachusetts Released: 1998
Myspace
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Magrudergrind S/T. These guys play grind / violence. If you haven't heard about this record like 50 times already you are majorly slacking. Scene song, shout out to SE Asian kids, Ge-Ge-Ge-Gentrification! Blastbeat... tempo change... grind vocal... sample... death metal riff... you get the point. Picked this one up last week. Worth every penny. Pretty sure they share a drummer with Coke Bust. Recorded / produced by Kurt Ballou and mastered by Scott Hull.
Active: 2002-current Hometown: Washington, DC Released: 2009 Myspace
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One by Cursed. Heavy Canadian hardcore. I could give you the same tired old band comparisons, but I refuse to. It's dirty, loud, and mean, and if that isn't enough for ya then you prolly don't really like hardcore. Produced by Kurt Ballou. The only album on this list not recorded at God City. Everyone's already heard it and knows the member's past bands... moving on.
Active: 2001-2008 Hometown: Quebec / Ontario, Canada Released: 2003
Myspace
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Live The Storm by Disfear. D-beat. Tomas Lindberg of At The Gates / Skitsystem / The Great Deceiver / etc on vocals. Uffe Cederlund of Entombed on guitar. Not like they didn't shred before the big names joined though... This was Disfear's sixth proper release and their second with Lindberg on vox. One of my favorite albums from 2008. Kurt Ballou recorded / produced. What more need be said?
Active: 1989-current Hometown: Nyköping, Sweden Released: 2008
Myspace
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Metalcore sucks: Holy Terror... or whatever...

Not like this stuff is super obscure or anything so I'll keep it short. Hardcore + Metal + Negative / Apocalyptic / Occult Lyrics = A satisfying listening experience... Please forgive me for posting bands that have put out albums on Victory Records.


Humanity Is The Devil by Integrity. This one doesn't really need any introduction, Integrity made the blueprint others built upon it. Heavy hardcore with dark atmosphere, tons of aggression, and a sick Pushead cover. To say this album is awesome would be an understatement. They have this and a few other albums posted on their Myspace.
Active: 1989-current Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio Released: 1996
Myspace
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Samsara by Catharsis. My favorite Catharsis release. A bit more political than the rest of the albums in this post but what do you expect from a Crimethinc band. Likewise the occult / religious lyrics don't take the foreground but are still present. Passionate hardcore with some whisper / yell vocal dynamics and great lyrics... This album doesn't know how to stop rocking. ♪My kingdom come, My will be done... In heaven... As it is... Down here.♪
Active: 1994-2002 Hometown: Chapel Hill, North Carolina Released: 1997
Myspace
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Lost In Sabbath by Mayday. Two sides two songs ten minutes. More oppressive atmosphere (aided by heavy breathing noises in the background of the first track), more bleak lyrics, more viciousness. While still firmly rooted in metallic hardcore these guys owe less to Integrity than pretty much any other band on this list. Aside from this 7" the also put out another 7" called Underdark, the Staplegun 10" and a split with Integrity.
Active: ???-??? Hometown: ???, Virginia Released: 1994
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Negotium Perambulans In Tenebris by Gehenna. Vicious hardcore with sick ragged vocals not dissimilar to the growls used by Never Healed (whose S/T Lp I was stoked to find at the record store the other day). This is some straight up mean spirited blasphemous music. Quit reading and give it a listen. This was their first Lp (of three all together?). I read someplace that these guys share a member with Iron Lung? Wow. This shit is no joke! Fucking evil!
Active: ???-current Hometown: San Diego, California Released: 2000
Myspace
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The Promise by Ringworm. Here's a second band from Cleveland. Kinda sounds like what would happen if the singer from Cro-Mags fronted Integrity. This is a re-issue of their first album with demo versions of some songs as bonus tracks.
Active: 1991-current Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio Released: 1993
Myspace
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