Sulaco – The Privilege (Review)

This is the latest EP from Sulaco, a grindcore band from the US.

Considering the band’s traditional extreme length between releases, we’re quite privileged, (ahem), to have The Privilege so soon after The Prize.

Across 19 minutes of multifaceted aggression Sulaco kick you firmly in the teeth as only they can. Twisted hostility and atypical riffs grind you down, as ferocious complexity and rage-filled simplicity work unreasonably well together to crush and smash.

Sulaco don’t limit themselves to one form of extremity. Labelling them as a grindcore band is somewhat of a misnomer, as in their richly brutal sound you can hear grind, hardcore, metal, and death metal, and a wide variety of versions of these to boot. The Privilege has more in common with the Soilent Greens and Cephalic Carnages of the world than your garden variety one-dimensional grindcore acts.

Despite this diversity of influences, the songs flow well and the EP has a complete, holistically-considered feeling. Sulaco know very well how to mash their various aspects together to create something worthwhile. The end result may be seething with aggression and enraged violence, but has a depth of content that’s surprising for something like this. What’s also surprising is the amount of quality memorable riffs on the release, although it should come as less of a surprise I suppose, considering Sulaco’s track record, but The Privilege outdoes itself in the regard.

The band seem to have a new singer too, and his voice sounds great. Screaming and shouting his way through the crunchy, contorted distortion, I like what he brings to the music very much. In this way, The Privilege potentially heralds an impressive new chapter for the band, and I can’t wait to find out where they go from here.

Very highly recommended.