Here we have two bands from the UK, very different in style but with a similarly angry outlook on life.
Army Of Flying Robots had been doing their brand of psycho political emo-thrash hardcore punk for a while and had a couple of releases under their belt by this point.
Taint had just celebrated their 10th anniversary, which meant that they'd had plenty of time to hone their unique fusion of pure headbanging stoner rock and dark, depressing hardcore.
The beautiful gatefold sleeve was designed by Jim from Taint.

Buzz Magazine
One of the best rock bands from South Wales ever, Taint, split a single with one of the best powerviolence hardcore bands in the UK, Army Of Flying Robots. The result comes in one of the best designed sleeves you could imagine and released on one of the best punk labels around right now. I rather like it. 5/5.

Ninehertz
Well Kunal has done it again, the glorious Superfi Records unleash another two UK contenders on a slab of this time, grey vinyl. First up we have the always interesting Army Of Flying Robots, coming in with two tracks faster than sweat off Lee Evans’ forehead, their traditional hardcore take on Grind always makes me smile, and even more so now they’ve worked some more elements into their constant barrage sound. A scream starts their first track 'In The Shadow Of Swine' and it does a great, inhuman blend of Combat Wound Veteran before reverting back to old hardcore with some great backing vocals as lyrics that take a somewhat Animal Farm theme gush forth in the two or so minutes the song lasts, lines like "And so the pigs took over the farm, soon they'll roast on spits" having these Orwellian traits in particular. Second song 'Embodiment' starts off relatively slow for the Robots, soon speeds up and becomes a political tirade, taking the words of idiot US Secretary of State Al Haig and turning them round with pure vitriol ("You just give me the word and I'll turn that fucking little island into a parking lot") before it ends with some lovely piano, never thought I'd hear that on a Robots release. You should also read Henry's liner notes with care, as they are always informative. Brilliant stuff. And so onto side two of this release, Welsh giants Taint take up the whole of the side with their song "I’m Going To Kill Henry Ford" which fucking rocks in a manner of speaking. Starting off with a killer blues riff and some fantastic production, these valley boys certainly know how to kick a mean riff, while maintaining a sense of urgency throughout the proceedings, the vocals are as sincere as they are barked "Today's heroes are tomorrow's parodies" sticks in your mind long after. All in all, Taint create a battering ram of a sound that belies their limitations as a three-piece, sometimes it takes thinking about practical aspects of a band just to realise how amazing they truly are, the sounds that Jimbob, Chris and Alex create put bands with more members to shame, the bass sound is perfection in four string form, the guitar sounds as rugged as they do live, the drums crash and rip and Jimbob's vocals are a constant delight, his Welsh accent slightly coming through in his half-bellowed, half-spoken vocal style, they even fit in an Isis-like drift before a doom-like ending wraps up a truly crucial seven inch record; I only wish they'd do a series!

Collective
Superfi follow up their excellent Orthrelm / Trencher split with a great split between two of the UK’s best bands going. Lavishly packaged in a gatefold cover, and on thick, clear vinyl, you can’t go wrong! This was released partly for the European tour that both bands went on recently, bet it was fun. The Robots went on first with “In the shadow of swine” which starts with some full on brutal screaming from Mr Davies and goes straight into some erratic brutal thrash. The track flies by and is seeringly brutifal. The riffs are powerful as fuck and the drumming is as ever a straight out attack. The Robots show on this track their ability to make a load of noise whilst not primarily relying on straight forward thrash by the numbers or screamo. Three quarters of the way through “In the shadow of swine” there is a moment of complete dischord which rolls onto the Gehenna meets Unruh like ending (that used to be the ending to their track “Drift”). “Embodiment” has been a live favourite for ages, it kicks off with this amazing riff that’s somewhere between From Ashes Rise, Darkest Hour and Converge (but straight forward and mosh-tastic). “Embodiment” then makes Kreator look like late Promise Ring until it gets to one of the best IHC moment for a very long time. Not since Catharsis has a band fucking rocked a riff like this so hard, and the Robots can more than make up for their passing. Taint were so excellent live the other day my head nearly fell off. This track documents what they were like to a T. They combine classic DC riffs with classic stoner / doom rock outs. They are very ROCK but they have excellent song writing abilities. Their side kicks off like Kerosene 454 in their classic rocking mode, but ultimately where Taint come up trumps is that they beef up the sound a bit. The main riff is so punishing it of course sounds best when its being banged out again and again in classic Circle or Neu meets Fu Manchu mode. The peak of “I’m going to kill Henry ford” is the meandering ending, it slows it down whilst not lacking any of the rock punch documented earlier on their side. This 7” is pretty fucking incredible and it’s great to see two brilliant bands sound so good as well as benefiting each other with a different take on great music.

Mashnote
Me and my bandmates had the pleasure some months ago to share the stage with both bands featured on this split seveninch. These two bands are not quite the same musically speaking, but that's what makes releases like this interesting. And live they were a blast too. Army Of Flying Robots are manic, thrashy and full on angry. They all sorts of different elemants in their songs. Going from fast blast beats to slower mosh to melodic pieces. "Embodiment" is a good example of that kind of songwriting approach. The anguished ending is totally complete with the piano taking over the melody. Both songs are in that vein, and have political lyrics. Taint on the other hand, or one big groove machine. With stoner riffing and tormented yelled vocals the fill up their side of the split. Just one song, but it's a long and has all the elements you need to get off your ass and move your body. If you feel brave enough why not try to get out your airguitar and immitate jim-bob's heavy riffing. This is great stuff and even hard-boiled thrash fans should like this. My copy same on grey vinyl in a beautiful designed gatefold sleeve. Grrrreat Superfi release.

Aversionline
This split sees the pairing of two solid UK acts for a little under 15 minutes of material. Army of Flying Robots takes side A with two tracks of extremely caustic grind/metallic hardcore with cackled vocal screams over blasting speeds with dissonant, noisy guitar work that retains a sense of control and hits on a couple of thick and in your face hardcore chord progressions on occasion. "Explanation" is initially slower and more spacious than the relentless speeds of "In the Shadow of Swine", but its chunkiness is definitely contrasted by some extreme blasts as well, despite closing with an intense surge of melody and a quaint piano outro. Nicely done. The only thing that's holding this material back is the recording, which gives the vocals too much prominence in the mix and suffers from a muddy sound that lacks detail, so I'd definitely like to hear them get a little more brightness and definition in there as well as pulling the vocals back in against the music. The break of pulsing bass and clean guitars in "Explanation" actually sounds pretty damn good (and this unexpected melodic twist is actually a major beacon of potential), so they're on the right track, but a greater sense of balance could make an enormous difference. Lyrically both of the tracks deal with greed and power as they pertain to the wealthy: "And so the pigs have taken over the farm, soon they'll roast on spite, you'll reap what you sow." Taint follows on side B with one track ("I'm Going to Kill Henry Ford") that marks a significant contrast to Army of Flying Robots with killer, sludgy midpaced rock riffs and surges of chunky rhythmic dissonance and melodic post-hardcore textures backing shouted vocals for a damn nice little tune. Their production values are pretty damn solid as well, perfectly balancing the guitars and basslines, and with crisp yet resonant percussion that sounds totally natural. Again I think the vocals are a touch loud here, and on occasion the guitars can lose clarity, but they're damn close to being dead on with these tones, and once they nail it I'll be really psyched, because this track marks a definite step forward for the band's songwriting. The bulk of the track is instrumental, but the lyrics are fittingly open for interpretation nonetheless, despite hinting at socio-political commentary: "The intravenous sedative wreaks havoc, Today's heroes are tomorrow's parodies, I never knew it would get this far, Today's heroes are tomorrow's tragedies…" The record is pressed on marbled gray vinyl and comes in a full color gatefold sleeve with lots of intricate designs and imagery relating to the title and lyrical themes of the songs. All in all this is a nice little split, though Taint inches ahead for me and certainly leaves me wanting to hear more!