The Name's Core, Grind Core: Unrest - "Grindcore" CD Review

Denak's Grindcore LP, Mind As Prison's Maryland Grindcore 7", Copeater's Wisconsin Grindcore CD, Haemorrhage's Grindcore EP, Phobia's Grind Core EP and now Unrest's Grindcore CD. Maybe not the most creative genre for titling albums, but at least you know exactly what you're getting into. I was formerly unfamiliar with Unrest until discovering this 2015 release on Bandcamp. Unrest is throwing out some hefty chunks of melodic, crusty Grindcore. The band is playing songs split between the signature style of Nasum (which the band openly admits to paying homage) and that catchy riffing that would fall just short of the likes of bands such as Iron Reagan. Grindcore is a little bit of all the forms of the genre presented as a brutal grind mixed bag of nuts. 

I didn't see any names or a current line up on the band's Bandcamp, but from what I could figure out Unrest is a three piece from Philadelphia and Brooklyn. They definitely sound much bigger than a guitar, a bass and a drum kit.

Unrest's heavy handed drummer skillfully marches through this album with a natural precision. He slings out d-beat runs and tempo switches that flow flawlessly between flurries of blast beats, stop/starts and some brief tribal drum filler. Some of the slower passages are marked with double bass rumbles and crashing doom style cymbal work that really shine on this album. 

The guitar work on Grindcore might be the key to the album's grinding eclecticness. Songs weave their way amung various riffing styles while still keeping things fast and furious. They effortlessly shred through your stardard grind blasts while also detouring into doomy intros and breakdowns that are rich in thrash style chugging. These riffs add a lot of crunch, especially in tandem with the drumming. There are a few slower songs on this record that really take advantage of the more melodic and layered guitar sound. 

This melodic guitar and the familiar vocals probably draw the biggest comparisons to Nasum. Just as varied as the grind styles on the album themselves, vocally Unrest mainly put into use low gutterals and screaming highs. Again, these dueling vocals are so Nasum-esque that comparisons can't help but be made. Unlike most grind bands, however, Unrest also apply some cleaner, hardcore vocals that are more reminiscent of early punk and crossover bands. All these vocals pop up randomly from song to song and add a nice depth and freshness to the album. It reminded me of when I first heard the vocal work on my first FUBAR 7".

Overall, this album is highly recommended. Production is on the cleaner side allowing you to hear everything that the band members are doing, definitely not a bad thing in my opinion. Again, The Nasum inspiration can not be over stated, so if you are missing Human 2.0 or Helvete, try this album out. I've already placed an order for my copy. 

FFO: Nasum, Ramming Speed, Afgrund, Bloody Phoenix, Infest (the other one)

A Pessimist For The Rest Of Us: Abaddon Incarnate - "Pessimist" Review

Old school Irish death-grinders, Abaddon Incarnate, first emerged from Dublin's death metal scene in the early 90's and since then have slowly but surely been guiding their helm into grindier waters. The band's first full length, since 2009's Cascade, Pessimist, damn near shipwrecks into the Grindcore Reef. Easily Abaddon Incarnate's best work to date. Pessimist begins where Cascade left off, just as Cascade was the natural progression of 2004's Dark Crusade and 2001's Nadir. These lads not only ground down their emerald metal into a finely tuned death-grind, but sharpened it to a fucking razor's edge.
Track for track, it seems this album has faster blast beats and more of them compared to past albums. Johnny King pummels behind the kit. I'm not saying past recordings featured subpar drumming in the slightest, but this drumming sticks with me a little more for some reason. No choppy/alternating metal blasts, no drab death filler, no boring instrumentals. King brings only speedy blasts trading off with d-beat gallops. I'm probably happiest with Pessimst because even though this is definitely a death-grind record, the guys are keeping it punk as fuck percussion wise.
Where the death metal roots are still exposed in this newest layer of Grindcore top soil are in the guitars, in-which the other three members of the band all play. Guitarists Steve Maher and Bill Whelan and bassist Steve Finnerty use combinations of flying buzzsaw riffs, head banging grooves and interment bursts of naturally placed thrash solos. The guitar tone is perfectly balanced with the sound of the drums; consistent, crunchy, driving, fuzzy with distortion but not too much so that it's chunky or murky. Remnants of younger Abaddon Incarnate still survive in some of the longer, mid tempo songs with stomping riff fests that showcase the musicians' metal know how. There may not be an out of place note on this album.
Vocally, again everyone but King contribute to the mix. Three vocalist dishing out mainly variations of shrill high yells and gruff, low death metal roars. The Grindcore standard.
Overall, Pessimist is Abaddon Incarnate's best album so far. These Irish blasters are tighter and faster than ever, shedding their earlier raw metal sound for a stronger, more up and up grinding assault. The band still keeps well within their traditional standards of dark song writing with an undercurrent of melody; not too far off from Nasum and their many clones. They definitely have a comfort zone as far as song writing goes that you may or may not pick up on depending on how many times you listen to this release or the band's back catalog. But no harm, no foul. This album is a great example of some old schoolers still showing they can kick ass and keep up with the sharpness of today's modern day grind.



FFO: Brutal Truth, Kill The Client, Nasum, Napalm Death