This is the debut album from Swedish grindcore band Grid.
I do like me some Swedish grind. Grid play merciless grindcore, with fiery blasts, punishing d-beats, and melodic crust all included in their aggressive formula. I very much liked 2017’s Human Collapse Syndrome, so I had high hopes for Livsleda, and it has not disappointed. Continue reading
Refusal are a Finnish death metal band and this is their second album.
Here we have 32 minutes of old-school death metal mixed with elements of grind and hardcore. It’s nasty, savage, and packs a mean punch. Entombed and Napalm Death are your reference points here, along with bands like Rotten Sound, Crawl, and Lik. Continue reading
Rotten Sound are a Finnish grindcore band and this is their latest EP.
Rotten Sound have always managed to marry up brutally aggressive music with decent songwriting and ferocious delivery. With this in mind, this latest EP offers 12 minutes of exactly this. It’s punishingly harsh, but not without a level of songcraft that’s absent from many grind bands who just tear loose and be done with it. Continue reading
Abjured are a German grindcore band and this is their second album.
Here we have 41 minutes of Scandinavian-inspired acidic grindcore, played with venom and a creative flair. Continue reading
Grid are a Swedish grindcore band and this is their latest EP.
Looking for some old-school Swedish grind, Nasum/Rotten Sound-style, with a pinch of Napalm Death? Grid have got you covered. Continue reading
This is the debut album from US grindcore band The Drip.
The band’s 2014 EP A Presentation of Gruesome Poetics was a brief glimpse into the world of The Drip and what they were capable of. I said in the review that the EP bodes well for a future album release and that they were ones to watch. Well, after a longer wait than Continue reading
Straight Hate are a Polish grindcore band and this is their début album.
Well, isn’t this a delectably savage little slice of nastiness?
Straight Hate have a nicely gritty sound that sees them rip faces off with ease over these 26 minutes. The music is fast, brutal and designed to go right for the kill. Continue reading
This is the latest release from UK Grinders Razoreater.
Razoreater combine elements of Old-School Hardcore and, unexpectedly, Swedish Death Metal into their furious blend of Grindcore.
Ugly vocals with a fierce Old-School Hardcore snarl to them rage out from the tracks, angry enough to cause violent feelings just by their very presence.
The music has a dirty Swedish Death Metal feel to it that’s quite delicious, especially as it’s filthed-up Grind that’s being played. Due to this, some of the riffs also have that Swedish feel, especially when the band slow the pace and concentrate on mood and evil melodies; all of which is a great addition to the standard Grinding mayhem.
These songs are full of good riffs and decent songwriting. This is a band who play at full speed very well, but know when it’s a good idea to slow things down and try a different method of attack. 13 minutes later – faces are broken and skin has been bruised.
Interesting, very interesting. Cross Extreme Noise Terror, Entombed and Rotten Sound together and you’ll have an idea of where Razoreater are coming from.
Razoreater make an impressive din. Check them out.
Haemophagus are from Italy and Subjugation are from Turkey. They’ve teamed up for this short and brutal split.
I was very impressed with Haemophagus’ début album Atrocious, and on this split they continue to impress with two tracks of quality Grindcore-infused Death Metal.
Hibernated World is an Old-School Death Metal revenant that stumbles and crawls its way out of the crypt. Savagely jagged riffs and evil, underground melodies combine with a cocky swagger to create a song that is confident and assured.
The vocals are dark growls that seem like they’re spewing acid and vile warnings. This feeling continues on into the second song Monsters in the Park, where the vocals are a little deeper but no less caustic.
This second track is faster with the rotting horror of the first replaced by a two minute grinder that still can’t resist a good groove in the last part of the song. Both are very good tracks but I favour this latter one very slightly.
Subjugation are a new band for me. They offer us three tracks in total and their Deathgrind has a Swedish Death Metal edge to the guitars, mixed with the taste of an older, less-polished Rotten Sound.
The vocals are ultra-deep and rough around the edges; they’re both uncompromising and satisfying.
Monuments to Greed is their first song and it’s a decent calling card for the band. Fast but not overly so; there’s some Swedish groove here too and it hits the spot.
Trembling on Broken Glass continues the theme only with a faster approach. The Swedish feel is still here in the sound of the guitars and it lends the band an immediacy to their already in-your-face style.
The final song Under the Whip is the longest at just under 3 minutes in length and is probably the most brutal of the three. The blasting eventually changes to a mid-paced chugging assault to see out the song, and, like Haemophagus, Subjugation’s final track is probably my favourite.
This short hit of Death Metal/Grindcore is just what the mad doctor ordered and is definitely worth a few spins.
Recommended.
Hailing from the US, The Drip play Grind, fast and brutal.
This EP is 12 minutes, 6 tracks of mutilating Grindcore. The band worship at the altar of Grind legends Nasum and Rotten Sound, and are just as tight and focused.
The songs are streamlined and belligerent, with a good grasp of Nasum-esque dynamics.
The vocals are mainly high-pitched screeches designed to curdle milk and other such meanness. They sound savage and layer the top of the music like broken glass.
The production is clear enough to hear everything but also dirty enough to avoid the band becoming sterile or safe. A band with bite.
Each song is a self-contained furnace of energy and destruction, with nothing being held back. The band manage to give off a very complete feeling of listening to both state-of-the-art Grind but also one that’s aware of its heritage, going all the way back to Napalm Death when they unleashed Scum upon the world.
This is a great little collection of high octane grinders and it bodes well for a future album release. Definitely ones to watch.
