Starcrossed Faggots - "Compulsory Heterosexuality" /
Vomitopsy - "Eating Grapes That Taste Like Death"

Welcome to the latest in D.I.Y drum machine grindcore. Actually, wait. “The latest”? It’s not like anything has changed in drum machine grind in the past decade. The drum machine spazzes out, the guitarist spazzes out, the vocalist (if there is one) screams and gargles, and that’s that.

And let’s be straight up: this CD you just received didn’t revolutionize a damn thing. But, as stupid as it sounds, grind gives a buzz like no other genre—an adrenaline rush that speed fiends can’t find anywhere else. So after years of addiction to the blastbeat, I (Dan Barry) decided to make some of my own. And when I heard that my brother’s bandmate was doing the same thing in his spare time, I knew we had a formula for a split.

So, two years of work later, you’re holding the self-released split CD between Starcrossed Faggots and Vomitopsy. Two computer-based grind bands out of northwestern Connecticut. Eighteen minutes. We’re so psyched to share a copy with you.

Vomitopsy is the bloodsoaked brainchild of Adam Sahlin, who is also guitarist and songwriter for Connecticut’s The Perennial [formerly On Paths of Torment, on Creator/Destructor Records]. After bouts of insomnia, Adam would spend the early morning hours in front of his friend’s computer, programming the most deviant, stupid, over-the-top grind beats he could imagine. There was only one rule: absolutely no toms and no drum fills. The resulting tracks were full of demented, Mortician-inspired blasting that could only be the soundtrack to a splatter/horror flick. Originally begun under the name Zombie Holocaust, Adam changed his project’s name to Vomitopsy to reflect his … his … actually, to be honest, I don’t know what the fuck he was thinking.

So what does it sound like? Take XXX Maniak’s gross-out humor, Rotten Sound’s speed, and Aborted’s clinical gore, and you have the basic elements of Vomitopsy. Featuring Invocation of Nehek/Through the Eyes of the Dead’s vocalist Lou Tanuis on the mic, Vomitopsy is an exercise in utter metal obnoxiousness. The point isn’t to take it seriously—the point is to use it as a weapon to alienate every human being within listening distance. That, or as background music for killing zombies with hairspray and a lighter. Whichever comes first—those fucking zombies are everywhere lately.

Meanwhile, I created Starcrossed Faggots to fill a gaping hole in the queercore scene. (Sorry—horrible pun.) The problem was that all the queercore out there wasn’t very ‘core. Sure, the superdykes of Team Dresch made awesome traditional hardcore, Pansy Division and Tribe 8 rocked the punk side of things, and Extra Fancy are queer alt-rock legends. But wasn’t there something a little, uh, heavier? Faster? More metal? There probably was, somewhere—but I couldn’t find it. Grind seemed like the logical format for a new kind of aggressive, queer-positive, sex-positive rock. It was fast enough, it was urgent enough, and it always had a more political edge than death metal. It was the only kind of music ballsy enough to have a shot at making the word “faggots” into something positive.

After hearing about my idea for a queer grind band, my brother Chris programmed the drumbeats that would eventually become SCF’s 3.5” floppy disk demo. We literally threw ourselves on the ground, gagging on food, choking each other to extract the most disturbing vocal performances possible. It was actually really fun. My lyrics (inspired by Daughters, Discordance Axis, and Pig Destroyer), Chris’ ludicrous guitar riffs, and the unusual format of SCF’s demo (yes, it was actually on a 3.5” disk), earned SCF fast recognition among the CT metal set. No small feat for a band without a live show.

Give our new disc a listen. We’d love your feedback—we’d love an honest review even more. Please inform us of any press. Most of all, we hope you enjoy it.