grind – Page 32 – Wonderbox Metal

Braineater – Reclusive (Review)

Braineater are from the US and play Death Metal/Deathgrind.

Braineater’s Deathgrind mixes Death Metal and Grindcore with an emphasis on the Death Metal side of the equation. They take the loose Punk-style of Grind and the brutal nature of Death Metal, merging the two with a Thrash sensibility.

Deep grunts are a matter of course for this kind of thing, but it’s the higher vocals that make a real impression. They have a lot of personality and wouldn’t be out of place on an 80’s surf-inspired Thrash album.

There are only 5 tracks here but it’s a good 19 minutes of music. The fact that it’s biased towards Death and Thrash Metal means that these are not your one minute marathons that some Grind is made up of, (with track 3, One Nation Under Gunpoint, being the exception). Instead we get enjoyable Death Metal with elements of Thrash and Grind at a decent length and with plenty of bloodshed and brain eating to go around.

This is a very encouraging EP. It shows a band who are putting a slightly different spin on a well-worn sound, and one that has a lot of character and personality to boot.

Check them out.

Nervous Impulse – Time to Panic (Review)

Nervous Impulse are from Canada and this is their second album. They play Deathgrind.

This is a band who worship extremity and brutality above all else. Surely their motto must be “everything sicker than everything else”?

Their take on Grindcore is an interesting one because of this, as they don’t limit themselves just to their parent genre. Instead, they branch out into related areas and claim the most brutal elements as their own; Death Metal and Deathcore, being the main ones.

The songs are frequently complicated affairs that marry the short, chaotic brutality of Grind with the still-brutal, more song-structured nature of Death Metal. The end result is somewhat of a cross between Cryptopsy, Brutal Truth, Cattle Decapitation and Circle of Dead Children.

Speaking of Cryptopsy, the production on Time to Panic is not a million miles away from that of my favourite Cryptopsy album None So Vile, so you know that the sound is tight and precise.

Oh, and there’s an Agoraphobic Nosebleed cover. How ace is that?

Nervous Impulse write their songs to be heavy and extreme but still make sure they are written well rather than just a selection of strung-together riffs. It’s really quite tasty.

Vocally, we get pignoise, deathgrunts, screams; anything and everything to make the harshest noises imaginable.

If you like Extreme Metal with enough chaos and brutality to stun and enough songwriting skill to hold interest then check this out. I just can’t stop listening to the fucking thing.

Mindflair – Scourge of Mankind (Review)

Mindflair are from Germany and this is their second album. They play Grindcore.

Furious blasting Grindcore with heavy, tar-like slower bits interspersed; Mindflair make this extremely easy to like.

It’s a well recorded 25 minutes with everything sounding clear and heavy.

The riffs are infectious and actually quite catchy for a Grind band. The songs themselves may be short but they’re long enough and contain enough content to make a good impression.

This album is extremely listenable. Their assault has a Punk-aesthetic mixed with a southern Sludge-tang that gives them an easily digested flavour.

The tracks are memorable and have a good mix of blast beats and groove. The playing is tight and Scourge of Mankind ticks all of the boxes for a superlative Grindcore release.

The vocals alternate between static-like screams and blunt shouting. Harsh and unforgiving, just like we like.

Somewhat of a cross between old Napalm Death, FromTheAshes and Soilent Green’s acidic Sludge/Grind, this is quite the treat and I really can’t say enough good things about it.

Oh but this is a good one. Fans of extremity everywhere – you need this.

Multinational Corporations – Jamat-al-Maut (Review)

Multinational Corporations are a Grindcore band from Pakistan. This is their first EP.

Here we have 15 minutes of intense, violent Grindcore, with passion and feeling that’s evident throughout.

This is ugly, underground music that has an Old-School style and offers a completely authentic immersion in the style

The riffs are as taut as rope and as tough as battered, leathery skin. The band are equally at home playing fast as they are slowing it down to a heavier groove.

Elements of Crust and Old-School Hardcore can be felt alongside the brutal Grinding core, and the band manage to make the most of short songs to sound relatively diverse for a band that is essentially going straight for the jugular all of the time.

Somewhat of a cross between old Napalm Death and Groinchurn, to my ears; Multinational Corporations sound rabid and ready to attack.

It doesn’t last long, but what there is of it is a great little listen. Be careful though, there’s a real bite here.

Smothered Bowels – Thorax Driller (Review)

This is the début album from Russian Grindcore band Smothered Bowels.

9 tracks in 21 minutes; Smothered Bowels waste no time with bringing the brutality and the blasting heaviness.

Featuring extreme pignoise vocals in addition to the odd incoherent scream, this is Grind that combines Goregrind and Deathgrind into one heaving mass of bloody chunks.

The Death Metal influence is apparent from some of the riffs and the occasional guitar solo. This is combined with the brutal extremity of Goregrind to create an album that teeters on the Death Metal brink but never quite fully converts.

There’s enough blurring between the similar genres to provide Smothered Bowels with an interesting foundation on which to lay their house of carnage.

The songs make use of Death Metal’s dynamics and Grind’s blasting insanity to create tracks that recall the top quality work of bands like Circle of Dead Children and Plague Widow. Both are firm favourites of mine so that’s a high compliment.

Smothered Bowels have put together a really enjoyable release that avoids the trap of one dimensionality by employing good songwriting and an impassioned bludgeoning.

An impressive first foray into the Grindcore underworld. Hopefully this will not be overlooked, and doubly-hopefully the band’s next release will be even better, as this is pretty damn good already.

Offal/Zombie Cookbook – Dementia Trash/Motel Hell – Split (Review)

Offal and Zombie Cookbook are both from Brazil and both play predominantly Old-School Death Metal.

Offal are first up, with two tracks lasting 5 minutes.

The first song consists of some nice Old-School battery, with plenty of murk and the stench of the crypt about it.

It’s a very well written song with some really good riffs and a thoughtful structure. Good leads enhance the foetid aura and it shows that Offal have learned a thing or two from listening to their old Autopsy and Impetigo records.

Cavernous growls are the vocals of choice, sounding ancient and terrifying with their ominous presence.

The second song, Spinal Extractions Fiend for Blood, is much shorter, with more of a Grind influence, but even this is delivered in an Old-School style.

Zombie Cookbook are next, with two tracks lasting 6 minutes.

First song Motel Hell has an Old-School vibe as well, recalling a rotten mix of old Obituary and Death with a hint of Thrash Metal thrown in for good measure. The vocals lash out as if in pain and the sense of the underground is strong.

The second song, Eredità Maledetta, is shorter, faster and altogether tighter.

Zombie Cookbook sound like an undiscovered band from the late 90’s. That’s a compliment, of course.

A short and brutal split that reeks of the underground and revels in its Old-School nature.

Listen if you dare.

False Pregnancy – Dance Your Meat Off!!! (Review)

False Pregnancy are from Estonia and this is their début album. They play Grindcore.

Take a look at the album cover. What’s going on there then?

This is Goregrind. Sorry, I didn’t quite say that loud enough. This is GOREGRIND!!!

There. Now you know.

The band themselves are even less subtle than that.

Heavy, malignant guitars stab out whilst sickening pignoise vocals vomit disgust over everything. You already know what you’re getting into when you listen to a band like this, but each brand of disease is individual and False Pregnancy certainly warrant their own strain.

Here we have 14 songs in 18 minutes, so you know that the tracks are short, violent and crushingly brutal. The band are actually heavier than a lot of Grind bands due to the thick presence of the guitars. It works well with the style and Dance Your Meat Off!!! has plenty of substance.

I like that the band inject a bit of variety into their assault. Sure, it’s all Goregrind, so there’s only so much variety you can have, but within the genre parameters they play the field widely with different tempos and riff choices.

The vocals are a highlight. It may be dirty pignoise but it sounds great and the vocal patterns used are satisfying and nicely paced.

This is definitely above average Grind and False Pregnancy should be on every Grinder’s wishlist.

Get ready to dance.

Primitive Man – Home is Where the Hatred is (Review)

Primitive Man are from the US and play Doom/Sludge. This is their latest EP.

Ahhh the latest Primitive Man release. I always enjoy their work. A band that personify heavy, nasty music perfectly.

And what do they bring us this time? Here we have music that was left out of all of the happy playlists when you were young. This is a style of music that people only get into when they’re older, jaded and consumed by hatred. Primitive Man feed on this.

The first song Loathe starts off with a churning maelstrom of tense riffs and chaotic drumming, only to slow down to a crawl once the pitch-black growling vocals come in. Crikey the singer has a good voice.

The rest of the songs keep up the high quality-control levels. Dirty Sludge Metal cascades out of the speakers in an onslaught of hatred, bile and disgust.

This EP is a 31 minute Sludge workout that takes in pummelling Doom, filthy Crust/Grind, Blackened guitars and riffs the size of tsunamis to create the aural equivalent of a torturously slow heart attack. Home is Where the Hatred is is Sludge heaven, if there is such a thing.

It’s hard not to love this band. I mean, assuming you like evil Sludge Metal of course. And if you do, Primitive Man are an absolute must.

Vile Disgust – Love all the Pigs (Review)

Vile Disgust are from Hungary and play Deathgrind. This is their début album.

With song titles guaranteed to impress the immature, this is over-the-top disgust-o Grind.

The band have a good sound and immediately go for the jugular with their own take on grotesque Deathgrind.

The vocalist belches out obscenities with utter relish and in a deep pignoise style. There’s a surprising amount of variety in the noises that he makes though from track to track, as if different songs had the vocals recorded in different toilets, in some form of filthy urinal tour.

Death Metal riffs and chugging brutality meet with the aggression and rampant disregard for life that Grindcore has. It’s mainly a-bit-faster-than-mid-paced affair, although the band do dabble in different tempos, speeds and methods of execution. The end result is songs that are about under 2 minutes long on average and do the best they can to flatten and disturb the listener.

This is primitive, groovy Grindcore that reeks of the sewer and has no more lofty ambitions than to see what floats to the surface after each flush.

Have a listen and see what you think.

Unrest – Grindcore (Review)

Unrest are from the US and play Grindcore, as you can probably tell. In fact, what do you do with an album titled Grindcore? Well, I’ll tell you what you do; you play it really damn loud.

Unrest appear to exist purely to play tribute to Nasum. In theory, this could end very badly indeed as Nasum are just sooooo good. However, in an unexpected twist of fate, Unrest manage to pull off quite the paradox by faithfully reproducing Nasum’s sound without sounding like a cheap knock off. Colour me impressed!

So, if you know what Nasum sounds like you know what Grindcore sounds like, and you can take that sentence in multiple ways really. Unrest’s Grindcore is tight, focused and furiously aggressive modern Grind that chokes the listener with almost 27 minutes of sharp, tasty Grindcore treats.

Like their heroes, Unrest know that Grind isn’t just about the blasting; dynamics, groove, feeling…these things are all important ingredients in the perfect Grind cake. Of course, this album isn’t perfect, but it is better than most.

Featuring some actual songs amidst the carnage and enough cutting riffs to maim the unwary, Grindcore delivers the goods time and time again.

Quality Grindage.