Dirtcore Music – “Overkill” review

This is the 2nd showcase compilation from Grand Rapids, Michigan independent record label Dirtcore Music founded by local rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Crossworm. The latter of whom was sole artist officially signed for its first 2 decades of existence until bringing Samson Samson whom he formed Bodies Below Sea Level with, Madd Maxxx, Mumm Ra, Sleep Lyrical, J Reno whom he formed Misery Coast with & Grounds all on board. Others such as Gavyn Gunn & Oblivia have spent a brief amount of time signed to Dirtcore with Gavyn’s debut EP Malevolent being a great start to his ongoing trilogy, celebrating Devil’s Night with Overkill.

Crossworm eerily starts with a self-produced intro “Halloween Sucks” talking about him spraying mace at anyone who knocks on his door whereas “The Veil” by J Reno takes the trap route instrumentally discussing the boundary between life & death. “Mask On” by Sleep Lyrical shows a bit of a Memphis influence being in the kitchen with evil eyes every Halloween while “Agree to Disappear” by Madd Maxxx speaks to his therapist on wax.

“CR4V3 M3” by Samson Samson embraces a funky industrial direction talking about a woman who’s yearning for him just before “The Old Man” by J Reno returns to the boom bap vividly describes a house usually skipped during trick-or-treating being the only 1 in town this year. “The Warning” by Mumm Ra aggressively asks if anyone wants smoke with him because he ain’t got shit to lost leading into “The Dead Can’t Die” by Crossworm industrially talking about the undead being immortal.

Misery Coast comes off their eponymous debut EP earlier this week with the dusty “Never Woulda Guessed” confessing they didn’t imagine themselves winding up 6 feet in the ground while the horrorcore/industrial “Scream” by Samson Samson talks about making innocent victims shriek when walking in the room. “Demon Me” by Madd Maxxx & Sleep Lyrical bodies a trap beat together feeling lost out their minds while the outro “Nobody” by Grounds sends off the compilation with a metal closer kin to his debut EP Walking into Tragedy.

Dirtcore last Christmas finished 2024 with Dirtcore Music by compiling a collection of songs that’ll get the average listener who hasn’t heard of with the label familiarized with who everyone is from an artistic standpoint & a little bit as people. As far as Overkill’s concerned, they’re switching it up by having the entire roster penning songs that celebrate Samhain through a mix of styles from horrorcore & industrial music to metal & a small dosage of spoken word.

Score: 4/5

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Sleep Lyrical – “Broken Hearts on My Face 2” review

Tampa, Florida emcee Sleep Lyrical making his Dirtcore Music debut with his 3rd studio LP. Known for his M.S.B.K. series of mixtapes, he discography further includes the Watch Me Work EP followed by the debut album The 12th Hour & the sophomore effort Broken Hearts on My Face. Coming off M.S.B.K. 6 last summer, Sleep’s looking to switch it up by giving the underground what they ain’t used to hearing from him getting a lot off his chest throughout the course of Broken Hearts on My Face 2 coinciding Valentine’s Day.

After the intro, the first song “Stay a While” produced by Crossworm is a somber trap opener suggesting that you shouldn’t be making any promises to him if you’re gonna fold whereas “Dealing With” featuring Senorita Sin finds the 2 talking about making it through this rough patch. “Trying Not to Fall” soulfully fights against the fog in an effort of saving his shine just before “Ease My Mind” get rid of the pain by smoking it all away.

“Back To” shows more of a hyphy influence instrumentally talking about initially thinking he was done dealing with all these broken hearts leading into “Hole in My Heart” talks about focusing on himself & still falling apart. “Circles” goes for a trap vibe to the beat feel like he’s moving around in circles some days, but then “Mission by Myself” eerie talks about being alone with his thoughts.

As for “Might Go Crazy”, we have Sleep Lyrical openly discussing the possibility of him losing his mind that’s already on the brink of sanity while the syrupy “Insignificant” shows a romantic side to him. The song “Fight” featuring Samson Samson gets aggressive over a dusty boom bap instrumental while the trap-rock fusion “Roll Alone” talks about rollin’ by himself. “Let Me Down” wraps up his Dirtcore debut talking bout the only thing he needs is his partner next to him.

The homie Rone Bone of The Beneath the Dirt Podcast was the one who put me into Sleep Lyrical several years ago & for his first album on Dirtcore Music, the sequel to Broken Hearts on My Face surpasses it’s predecessor. A personal catharsis, Sleep works through the trauma of betrayal, the death of his ex & the closure he never got from years of toxicity over some of the strongest production that I’ve ever heard him on.

Score: 4.5/5

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Dirtcore Music – “Dirtcore” review

Dirtcore Music is an independent record label based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan founded by local rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Crossworm. The sole artist officially signed for its first 2 decades of existence until bringing Samson Samson whom he formed Bodies Below Sea Level with, Madd Maxxx, Mumm Ra, Sleep Lyrical, J Reno whom he formed Misery Coast with & Grounds all on board. Others such as Gavyn Gunn & Oblivia have spent a brief amount of time signed to Dirtcore with Gavyn’s debut EP Malevolent being a great start to his ongoing trilogy & the rest of the current roster dropping off a showcase compilation on Christmas.

“You Can Get It” by Grounds, Mumm Ra, Samson Samson & Sleep Lyrical produced by Crossworm follows the “Good Evening” intro fusing electronic & trap to -leave enemies toe-tagged whereas “Burn It All Down” by Bodies Below Sea Level industrially finds themselves in a pyromanic type of mood. “The Split” by Misery Coast & Sleep Lyrical meshes these acoustics & hi-hats to talk about this being their life’s work prior to “Kill Em All” by Madd Maxxx & Misery Coast spitting the wicked shit over a trap instrumental.

Madd Maxxx gets his own solo cut with “Zatoichi” aggressively promising to take you out over a cold blooded aboom bap instrumental from J Reno leading into the cutthroat “Landmine” by Madd Maxxx & Misery Coast talking about rollin’ with villains & henchmen. “Keep You Safe” by Grounds, Madd Maxxx & Sleep Lyrical aesthetically somewhat reminds me of 1,000 Suns/Living Things era LINKIN PARK just before “Wear Them Kicks” by Madd Maxxx after an interlude from Dirtcore’s label manager Bando suggests to slide by him if you wanna try him.

“Heavy Babies Weigh Too Much” by Grounds teases his upcoming EP Walking into Tragedy this spring with a self-produced alternative rock track that breaks down during the 2nd half of it but once “Ill” by Madd Maxxx & Samson Samson gets back in their wicked bags decimating a boom bap instrumental, Bodies Below Sea Level goes into “Killmode” for the final song on the comp with the occasional guitars reminding me of “My Last Breath” by Evanescence serving as the entrance theme of former 2-time AEW TNT Champion, AEW World Trios Champion, 2-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, TNA World Champion, 6-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE Hardcore Champion, 9-time WWE tag team champion & The Patriarchy leader Christian Cage.

Making my holiday season a little better, all 8 artists get together to end what’s been an outstanding year for music by compiling a collection of songs that’ll get the average listener unfamiliar with Dirtcore familiarized with who everyone is from an artistic standpoint & a little bit as people. The production from the trio of in-house producers displays the Grand Rapids imprint’s prominently underground wicked shit sound & expanding beyond it for industrial music, rock music, boom bap, electronic rock & trap signaling that everything they’ve done these past few years was only the beginning.

Score: 4/5

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