It’s not fair to focus on the bands that anyone with a pulse and half an interest in good metal are going to be checking out at this years event. I could talk forever about bands like Eyehategod, GWAR, Napalm Death or the return of Superjoint (!) and you could to so where’s the fun in that? Lets talk about five of the lesser known but no less killer bands on the roster.

Child Bite – Child Bite, hailing from the blasted Michigan wasteland that is Detroit (sorry guys!), have produced their own brand of post punk since 2005 and have done so masterfully. Just last year they graced our ear canals with an Anal Cunt cover split with none other than metal luminary Phil Anselmo that ripped your guts out and left you standing there, wondering what happened. Child Bite appeared at Housecore last year but due to all the goodness that the fine folks at HHFF managed to pack into that inaugural weekend we were unable to catch their set. But not this year! I hope.

Corrections House – Corrections House is a strange amalgam of metal, spoken word poetry and crushing industrial crafted by some of the most highly acclaimed men working in the heavy music scene today. Comprised of Mike IX Williams (Eyehategod) Scott Kelly (Neurosis) ,Bruce Lamont (Yakuza) and Sanford Parker (Buried at Sea), Corrections House deliver an nihilistic and grim view of the modern world set to the beat of programmed drums,distorted guitar and occasionally some saxophone. You know you’r bleak and “upsetting to the core” when even Robin is shook after listening to these guys.

Ringworm – Ringworm are a straight up thrashy hardcore assault to the senses, having honed their sound since the late 80’s. After putting out enough albums to act as a vanguard for crossover acts that followed their initial assault, Ringworm faded away and the members went their separate ways. Reforming in 2001, they picked up right where they left off and have released album after album of brutal riffary and vocal assault. Their newest album, Hammer of the Witch, can be frequently found on the turntable in DIAG HQ, surely educating our neighbors on what true metal sounds like whether they like it or not.

Portal – Portal stands alone, even in an outsider genre like metal, as possibly one of the most abrasive and chaotic acts to assault audiences senses. They’re one of those bands that polarize people’s opinions; Either they are the greatest thing to happen to death metal in the last 10 years or it’s just some assholes who can’t play properly and like to play dress up. Obviously, I’m in the first camp. Instead of just heading down the very well trod path of there forebears, Portal struck out in a new direction foregoing any semblance to conventional death metal stereotypes. Constructing complex songs that, upon first listen, could be mistaken for the howlings of a madman locked in a wind tunnel mixed with a vacuum cleaner, Portal only start to reveal the genius in their madness with subsequent listens. A notoriously and purposefully obscure band, Portal’s only North American date at all in 2014 appears to be Housecore. I’ve had more than a few Portal induced trips of madness and the possibility of what a live show could entail tickles my Lovecraftian loving heart more than words on a screen could ever convey.

King Parrot – King Parrot originally came to my attention because of their sense of humor when it comes to the metal scene, specifically their track “A Blaze in the Northern Suburbs”. After seeing a name like that, I knew there was no way I wouldn’t fig what these Aussies are laying down and was I ever right. King Parrot come out of nowhere with there particular brand of deathgrind, kicking you like a kangaroo punch right to the junk.. From what I’ve heard there live shows are as intense and over the top as their songs so I think it’s safe to say that no one in the audience will walk away disappointed. Also of note is that one of the members and I seem to bear a striking resemblance to each other, in particular the ginger dreads. Small world.

Will you be at Housecore this year? What bands are you looking forward to seeing? Comment below!

-Scotty @drunkgraveyard