Bump ‘N’ Grind: Been too long innit
Time to wallow in some filth! Boy howdy, do I have some catching up to do. Let’s not waste time and get straight into all the past and upcoming grind I was happy to find in my inbox.
Deathgrave – So Real, It’s Now
Tankcrimes | June 22nd
Let’s start this off with a well-balanced meal. While Deathgrave launch into a full-on grind attack on opener “Casket Bath”, they quickly make clear that they’re not all about that by slowing things down in the middle of the song to let you catch up with what’s happening. Mind you, in catching up, you’ll still be pounded into the ground by hard-hitting chords backed by punchy drums. Letting you come up for air is not really on the agenda here. Nonetheless, the variety is kept rather high; nary a song stays in one lane for too long, and the dual vocal approach shifting between shrieks and abysmal gutturals does its share to keep you on your toes. It sounds like the bipolar child of grind and death doom is trying to defy its parents by hanging out with almost psychedelic, oddly dissonant material, as “This Is What You Get Pt.2,” “Seeping Through The Shoebox,” and other moments take on an unsettling, slightly trippy (for grind standards) atmosphere. Everything mostly gels together very well though, keeping you guessing as to what’s around the corner.
Grind-O-Matic – Regular Singularity
Independent | February 15th
I’ll be honest, if something is billed as “progressive” or “experimental” grind, I’m wary right off the bat. Do I want cilantro in my cereal? Do I want beetroot with my meat ‘n taters? Nah. Accordingly, I wasn’t thrilled with the slow buildup that Regular Singularity starts out with, but luckily, it’s not long before they get right down to business, blasting and shredding away like there’s no tomorrow. Yet they’re not undeserving of the “progressive grind” moniker. Going for a brighter sound (except for the growling vocals) with a mathcore-ish angularity in the songwriting, they resemble newer-school acts like Noisear in terms of technical fuckedupness. It’s an intense ride that can be somewhat demanding, yet never overwhelms and doesn’t come off as werid for the sake of weird. In the end, despite sounding like a pinball hitting the bumpers at times, everything makes sense as a whole.
Sissy Spacek – Ways Of Confusion
Nuclear War Now! | August 1st
Okay, now that we’ve seen two bands successfully jumble the formula a bit, let’s get really weird. Sissy Spacek are certainly playing the grindcore numbers game right; of the 39 songs, only one exceeds the one-miunte-mark, and according to the press text, this is roughly their 30th release. The maelstrom of blasting and bass guitar shredding only ever lets up for a few seconds, which are then usually filled with harsh noise. Couple that with vocals that cover all styles of vomiting you’ve ever come across in your life, and you’ve got a bit of a taxing listening experience. I honestly can’t take too much of this, but if you’re into unhinged stuff like Agoraphobic Nosebleed and Anal Cunt or noisemongers like Enbilulugugal… well, then you probably already know these guys, now that I think about it. Still, it’s nice to have something on hand to scare normies into never talking to you again.
Lifetaker – Thanatos
Independent | May 1st
Time to head back into more familiar territory and watch fellow Germans Lifetaker open this pit up. Opener “Keres” might lull you with its pretty, somber opening and even a bit of flashy guitarwork, but “Feral Ritual” wastes absolutely no time, kicking you in the head with some vicious grinding and d-beating before “Epitaph” reveals the third component of these guys’ sound, slowly and deliberately beating your head in. While not fully entrenched in spinkicking and pinwheeling territory, the hardcore edge to their brand of deathgrind is undeniable. Breakdowns are rather frequent and usually do a great job of utterly crushing you. I would highly recommend “Trenches” and “Todesdrang,” which display some of the best writing here. Quite a promising debut EP, perhaps best enjoyed at the gym.
Reinfection – They Die For Nothing
Deformeathing Production | June 29th
What’s that? Too comfy? Not gross enough? Not a fan of breakdowns? Well then perhaps we should make an excursion into European history, which is notoriously gory. Poland’s Reinfection released this, their debut, nearly twenty years ago, and since the band is apparently about to properly take up the reins again after a pitter-patter of smaller offerings, it’s getting a re-release. Not a re-master, mind you; the deranged mix of brutal death metal and grindcore is presented au naturel. And rightly so, given that the 90s flair it has to it fits well into today’s old-school death metal landscape and should satisfy anyone with an affinity for OGs like Suffocation, Infernal Torment, and probably Dying Fetus. Just be prepared to see the concept getting taken thoroughly over the top, as Reinfection spruce things up with insane amounts of blasting and occasionally let loose some barely-controlled chaos with every member simultaneously going full tilt. An incredibly entertaining purge.
