This is the second album from Shock Narcotic, a grindcore band from the US.
Following on from 2019’s I Have Seen the Future and It Doesn’t Work, My Flesh Is Afraid but I Am Not contains 23 minutes of new material, (27 minutes with the bonus Meathook Seed cover). Featuring current and ex-members of bands such as The Dillinger Escape Plan and Child Bite, I’ve previously described Shock Narcotic roughly as a cross between Napalm Death and Pig Destroyer, and as the band now feature the drummer of Pig Destroyer in their ranks, the comparison is even more apt.
The Napalm Death and Pig Destroyer reference points are certainly relevant, but only take you so far. Shock Narcotic deal in chaotic hardcore nastiness, jagged groove metal fury, and shades of sludge intensity, all wrapped up in a ball of raging grindcore. In places you can hear touches of bands like Dead Kennedys and Every Time I Die too, adding extra flavour to the vocal edges or guitar parts. This all means that My Flesh Is Afraid but I am Not exists on its own merits.
Shock Narcotic balance savage chaos and controlled violence, delivering tracks that batter and bruise. The average song length is longer than that of the band’s debut album, giving them greater opportunity for exploring frenzied brutality and thick beefy riffs. Of the latter, there are many good examples.
My Flesh Is Afraid but I Am Not is a solid album that falls somewhere between grindcore and something more metallic and riffy. Shock Narcotic’s second album should scratch that itch you have for something part-extreme, part-accessible.
Check it out.
Wonderbox Metal 