Phobia Want You to Know Exactly What They Play
Do the titles of works of art matter? An album should be able to stand on its own merit without some overarching declaration of purpose, right? Wrong! Titles are definitely important, and behind every great thing in life is a great title. Without the title of Caesar, Roman Emperors would have simply been angry little men with inferiority complexes. If titles didn’t matter, the Great Wall of China would just be a Significant Wall of China, and I don’t know about you, but that sounds like an easily invaded structure to me. Rest assured that Ludwig Wittgenstein was throwing down the proverbial hammer when he titled his masterful philosophical treatise Tractatus Logico-Philosophocus.
Titles are important in heavy metal too! When you think of the legendary albums that have shaped heavy metal, I’m certain you think of great titles such as Transilvanian Hunger, Destroy Erase Improve, and Through Silver in Blood. You also probably had several bad albums with bad titles traipse across you mind, such as Korn III: Remember Who You Are, The Gray Chapter, and Psycho Circus.
So why am I making all this hullabaloo about album titles? Grind legends Phobia recently posted a portion of their upcoming album for streaming, and it is a singular manifesto of purpose and intent that is equally bold and brash. Grind Core is due to drop on October 28th, and Phobia want you to know exactly what to expect. Only the first 8 of 35 songs are available for your listening pleasure, but you can expect the full-length to comprise about a half hour of the most bestial and bludgeoning grind this side of the Mississippi.
Phobia have been in business for almost 25 years now, and they release consistently brutal grind laden with unrelenting blasts and buzzing guitars that will split you limb from limb. What I really appreciate about this band though is their rocking and punkish swagger they bring to the music. Although Phobia definitely beat you about the head and neck, you’ll be so busy headbanging that you likely won’t notice. If any American grind band is worthy of naming their work after the genre we all know and love, it’s Phobia.
You can stream the 7” cut from Grind Core over at Invisible Oranges and pre-order the full-length from Willowtip here. Don’t forget to follow the band on Facebook. In the meantime, you should also check out one of their previous albums, Unrelenting.
(Photo VIA)
(h/t to Invisible Oranges for the 7″ Stream)
