COLUMNS - Please Explode
August 18, 2014, 9 years ago
(Relapse Records)
This is the kind of dirty and raw grindcore that Relapse once totally dominated, so it's kinda cool that this North Carolina-based band features ex-members of old-school dirty and raw Relapse grinders Hemdale (also cool someone from the underrated metalcore troupe Glass Casket is in here as well), these 16 songs adding up to 34 minutes of groove-laden grind and punked-out sludge. Yessir, I'm thinking Abscess and/or Autopsy as well, although there are also shades of clean-cut 'core creeping in some of those near-hardcore breakdown grooves. All those wonderful not-quite-top-tier Relapse groove/grind bands of Contaminated compilations past come to mind, the ones whose tunes always blurred past, but it was a wonderful blur anyway. Like, give me some Blood Duster, a bit of Cretin, some Flesh Parade, a less tech Human Remains, General Surgery, and, son of bleeeargh, is this fun stuff, the kind of tunes that overflow with energy and attitude, not technical prowess and perfection. And just like that, the almost overwhelming nostalgia of when Relapse compilations were the best releases of the year hits me so hard I could just weep into my Mindrot promotional posters (which I no longer have... oh man, the tears are going to come long and hard tonight).