Vinyl Review

SixBrewBantha – Blight

Grindcore is a fascinating genre of music, the ethos of which seem to come down to “all things more extreme than everything else”. The culmination of hardcore punk and heavy metal's sordid affairs; grindcore is the ultimate expression of punk's fuck-you attitude and heavy metal's technical wankery. Often very talented musicians dedicating their time and skills to playing something as far from what is traditionally understood as “music” as possible.

As a genre grindcore is characterized by incredibly frenzied, and immensely heavy, short songs piled onto short albums, implying that such a magnitude of fury is difficult to maintain, or possibly even enjoy, for very long at single go. This was a style of music I overlooked for a long time, it was something beyond my understanding, I couldn't comprehend quite why someone would make such non-music. Over time I have come to appreciate the anger and outpouring of such overwhelming emotion and expression that this kind of extreme music can represent. I came to enjoy, and to a degree understand, the experimental nature and vision it can take to create something that defies the conventions of it's medium so thoroughly while still being inexorably of that medium.

Victoria, BC's SixBrewBantha are a trio who have been playing together for some years now and are making some damn excellent grindcore music. Blight is their most recent recording, an EP containing roughly 18 minutes of curated pandemonium. They open with an audio clip from a movie, a classic grindcore move, something obscure enough I cannot locate it's source consisting of what seems to be some Appalachian bluegrass with a decidedly anti-establishment bent. Then the first track starts in earnest, coming on full bore and never really letting up all that much.

As is expected for this kind of grindy extreme metal the songs don't really differentiate themselves from one another, each song blends into the next creating a flow through the rhythms and riffs that encompasses the entire EP, enveloping the identity of any given single song. This patterned chaos ebbs and flows through the music, while constantly heavy, occasional (slightly) slower sections offer some reprieve from the aural assault. All told however, the ferocity just does not let up for the length of this EP.

The musicianship on this recording is excellent, both the drums and guitar sound great in the mix (there is no bass) and they are played with aplomb. The drums blast away in bursts, rhythms, and patterns that morph and change, twisting and turning on a dime. The guitar has a good tone for this kind of music and the complex grinding riffs are intense and demanding. The vocals here come in two flavours, a higher pitched scream and more low register growl. Both are very well done and don't come off monotonous as the speed and flow of the delivery will change to fit the riffs and rhythms of the section.

This EP is a great short collection of Canadian grindcore, that I enjoy very much. I was lucky enough to have caught these guys live at a small show where I picked up this record, and have been listening to it regularly ever since. Please do give this album a try if you are into extreme metal, it doesn't get much more abrasive than this, in the best way possible.

Recommended for:

Fans of grindcore and extreme metal

People interested in checking out some more extreme music

Punks who want to step it up a notch

The Vinyl

The version I picked up is the limited edition with the gatefold cover. It's a good solid quality cover, nothing too special or anything material-wise. The cover art for this EP (by Matt Sidney) is fucked-up, grotesque, and amazingly well done, some kind of dystopian human-farm or something. It couldn't be a more fitting image for this kind of grotesque sound.

The record is basic black but is a nice heavy weight vinyl. The record sleeve is pretty cheap, the most basic white-paper sleeve around; two sides held together with paper strips on three sides. There is a single fold insert as well, with art on the outside of the fold (the same as on the inside of the gatefold cover), and lyrics and credits on the inside of the fold. My insert is a little bent after being caught just slightly in the fold of the cover. Could be my fault, I didn't even realize it had an insert until taking the photos for this review. All of this fits into the cover nice and easy, no fuss no muss. The label also clearly displays the RPM of the record.

Size: 12"
Speed: 45 RPM
Colour: Black
Weight: Heavy
Labels: To Live A Lie
Limited Edition to 500 copies with gatefold cover
Good sound quality