[MYSPACE] Gridlink - Amber Grey (2008)

[padrak]

Die neue Band des Ex-Discordance Axis Vokalisten praesentiert hier ein 12 minuetiges Highspeed Grindcoremassaker der Extraklasse. Wow!

I knew nothing about this prior to putting it in, but the short track lengths clued me in that it would either be something experimental and ambient, or maybe grindcore.

Its grindcore alright, but executed with the speed and ferocity of black metal - like Anaal Nathrakh covering Slayer at double-time. Now, grind sometimes devolves into a spastic battery of blastbeats and interchangeable riffs, but each track on Amber Gray is tight, technical and offers a wealth of sharp, vicious riffs. Despite the abbreviated running time, theres a lot going on here - so much great stuff that I wish theyd have let the songs go on longer. Its amazing that they can pack so much progression and flow into these brutal little compositions, but without ever losing your attention - hell, theres no time to do that.

If theres one thing that does get old here, its Jon Changs (ex-Discordance Axis) vocals - harsh, psychotic and painfully constant. Remember the scene in Day of the Dead where one of Rhodes men gets his head torn off by a pack of zombies? Remember how his gargled scream modulated in pitch as his vocal cord stretched and tore? Well, freeze that note just before the final tear, and then set that on repeat. Its definitely a shock at first, but the unwavering speed and high presence in the mix soon makes it kinda tiresome. Some more variance - or an occasional break - wouldve helped here, but again, probably no time for that.

HydraHead is offering this release at full-price, which I guess is de rigeur for grind, despite the length (12 minutes). Still, its impressive to see so much technicality and flow packed into such a compact experience.

http://www.myspace.com/gridlink