Selections from the Archive - Volume 03

Selections from the Archive - Volume 03

As something of a companion piece to the most recent review I posted, the selection this week are all grindcore albums. They each do things a bit differently and each have their own flavour but the blistering roots of grind are apparent in their records.

Antigama - The Insolent

These Polish metal heads have been making grindcore for a good many years now, and they have always taken the opportunities to infuse their sound with something a little different. Here they have put together a sound I have heard referred to as "Cybergrind" due to the clean production, the almost robot-like precision in the instrumentals (especially the drums), and the science fiction themes throughout the lyrics. Also at play here is some heavy use of synth on this album, most notably an ambient-ish interlude at the start of the B side. As the album goes on the short songs begin to get longer and longer, building to an over 7 minute final track, quite a long one for this genre. Really solid extreme music played with remarkable capability.

Full of Hell - Trumpeting Ecstasy

The most recent full length from the American grindcore act known as much for their collaborations with various noiserock crews as for their own solo efforts. This is a blasting and triumphant record, after the obligatory film audio-clip, it opens with a wall of pure chaos, a pummeling aural assault, before twisting and turning it's way through the remaining material. Most of it feels like what one would expect from modern grinding music, heavy blasting drums and intense riffing, playing off some groovier rhythmic passages woven in. But there is also some experimentation with new sounds, particularly on the title track of the album which alternates between heavy grinding and more morose, creepy, and foreboding slow sections with some eerie female vocals over top. A great, albeit somewhat short, outing from a very talented band.

Wormrot - Voices

This Singaporean grind outfit is considered luminaries in their genre. While it could certainly be said that Wormrot is the most straight-forward grindcore band of these selections, they are hardly run of the mill. Very few bands in extreme metal are able to create these short, intense songs that still contain as much melody and as many hooky earworms as these guys are capable of doing. While their material is as hardcore and severe as anything out there, it is still exceptionally catchy and very interesting to listen to. This band is almost a mandatory addition to any serious grindcore collection.