This is the third album by Russian grindcore band Byonoisegenerator.
Jazzgrind, eh? Okay, I’ll bite. Subnormal Dives brings together, as advertised, the worlds of grindcore and jazz. It’s aggressive and dense, and Byonoisegenerator make a splash with the 23-minute free form savagery that is Subnormal Dives.
This is more brutal than I expected it to be. The jazzy elements are used to augment the deathgrind carnage, rather than distract from it. Subnormal Dives lives in both worlds, but ultimately loves blunt force violence too much to exist for too long outside of extreme metal’s crushing embrace.
This is grindcore that shares a border with mathcore, taking strengths from both to unleash non-standard stabs of jagged harsh intensity across ten tracks. Saxophone has been skilfully added to the music’ frenzy, bringing with it a jazz influence that enriches Byonoisegenerator’s grinding insanity. Death metal elements are woven intimately around this, adding a muscular brutality to the music’s arsenal.
The songs are technical and complex, twisting, turning, and griiiiiinnnding their way through their short lifespans. Sometimes impenetrable blasting hostility, sometimes a whirlwind of contorted chaos, sometimes a jazz-fuelled mood-rich workout, the songs flex their creative chops in order to bring the listener a virulent concoction of extremity. It’s ferocious stuff.
Subnormal Dives reminded me of a condensed, jazz-fuelled mix of extreme ingredients from bands such as Cephalic Carnage, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Imperial Triumphant, Thirty Called Arson, Pyrrhon, and more besides. It’s very good stuff. Make sure you spend some time with this.
Wonderbox Metal 