Review: Unborn Generation – Dead Generation of Men
Tired of getting your face melted? Want it rubbed with a sandpaper and grinded into dust instead? Come here.
The year is still young, but I am already unsure whether you actually still have a face or not. Archgoat’s newest album helped to tear you all a new one at the end of January, and Goat Semen’s debut is going to do it again in no time. But neither of those albums can provide you one important thing – GRIND. Unborn Generation steps in to fill this vacancy and does it darn well, I tell you. Dead Generation of Men does not start with a blast. Instead the first minute introduces you, my dear acolyte, to a crushing guitar tone woven from the fabric of gravity itself.
Some sped-up tempos and spoken word samples lead into “In the Corner”, and the foremost thought in my furry head is one of amazement over how catchy it is. I would go on to say that this is the albums greatest flaw; not the catchiness itself, but Unborn Generation’s inability (or unwillingness, take your pick) to make every song such. The less catchy songs stand out from the crowd as less brilliant.
For a grind album, Dead Generation of Men blasts very little, instead dwelling in the “just fast” territory or playing some crusty d-beat. Since I imagine most of you aren’t that familiar with the band, you could imagine a slightly slower Rotten Sound or a less hardcore-ish Nistikko (both slated for a new album this year, FYI).
Grind tends to be a pretty unvaried genre. Don’t take that the wrong way – I love grind more than the guy next door (unless he’s Tyree) – I merely wish to point out that, comparatively, Dead Generation of Men is a very diverse album. Sure, the guitar tones are the same, the bass doesn’t venture much, and the vocals are ordinary, but Unborn Generation’s use of more crooked structures and rhythmic changes set them apart. Not only has the band’s songwriting become tighter, they’ve also changed things up a bit, and the album as a whole reaps the benefits. Some songs, like “Throne of Dismay”, venture into sludgier and slower territory than ever before, serving as breakdowns of sorts, which – even though this album runs under half an hour – are welcome changes of pace. I also have to mention the vocals – somewhere between Tomas Lindberg (if he dropped some of the bloodiness and added a little meat) and Aaron Mayes (if less raspy).
Now if you are like me, you enjoyed the new Napalm Death release. It had some of their best songs and very little filler material, but one thing was lacking. Edward may think that the album kept Napalm Death as the apex predator of grind, but I have to disagree, as there was no really grinding material to be heard on that album. It left me a little confuzzled and greatly embittered as my blood-to-grind-to-beer-ratio found itself dropping to alarming rates.
Worry no more, for Unborn Generation has released a Tier Three Grind Album™ for your listening (dis)pleasure. This album is getting mauled by The Beargod. It is being torn apart by wolves. It’s having your face rubbed with a pack knives. There are no surprises and no long kisses goodnight. There is no quarter. Now go buy this album here or at bandcamp or here.
NO FLUSH
