Zitat:If you followed the Powerviolence and Grindcore scenes of the mid-90s, chances are you came across Benumb. Lead by one of the underground’s biggest cheerleader/supporter, Pete Ponitkoff, the band was virtually inescapable through a series of albums, EPs, compilation appearances, and string of self-booked tours throughout the U.S. After they spilt in the early 2000’s, drummer John Gotelli continued to work with Vulgar Pigeons, a band he had been playing in when Benumb wasn’t active. Ponitkoff would go on to spend time in the military as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. After a few years away, Ponitkoff and Gotelli have returned with Agenda of Swine.

Fans of their earlier material will not be disappointed by the band’s lethal blend of Grindcore and Thrash Metal. Waves of Human Suffering is brimming with over-the-top screaming, frenzied fits of speed, and the kinds of guitar riffs that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Napalm Death’s mid-period output. Jeff Lenormand and Jason Behan’s guitar performances are accomplished but still carry enough attitude to truly compliment Ponitkoff’s insane asylum vocal attack. Check out the violent tempos of “Lost in Apathy” and “Fragments of Reason” for two blistering examples of the Agenda of Swine potency. Like most of Ponitkoff’s lyrical work in Benumb, again he takes on the social ills of the world with the same kind of vitriol. There are a lot of bands doing this kind of thing but few are doing it with even half the heart AoS are tackling it with.