Rating: 5.8 Release Date: 2005 Record Label: Grindhead Records Track list: Band Website: Beyond Terror Beyond Grace |
Beyond Terror Beyond Grace - Still Human, Still Humane A tricky one to review, this. By the band's own admission the demo (i.e. pre-mastered) version of this debut EP was recorded purely to get gigs and it is no surprise that the distributed end result is rough, low fidelity and very live sounding. Also, the band have made no secret of the fact that they have developed this embryonic style into something far more mature and defined. However, since Australia is fairly isolated and with little news on recording studio developments, 9 minutes of oppressive and rampant youthful energy is all we have to judge. There is an old school ethos behind the young band's machinations. The skulking menace of early Napalm Death and Carcass that infects bands like Phobia and Pig Destroyer is present and correct. This is simplistic but catchy punky deathgrind that just yells at you like a schizophrenic street beggar with a rusty flick knife... mostly drunk and disorderly, but sometimes as deft as Bruce Lee. The vocalist does a remarkable Chris Barnes impression as well as wading into blackened territory (e.g. on "No Further Existence", a track that starts in the same way as Slayer's "Criminally Insane"). The guitars remind of early Cadaver during rapid higher-pitched picking (e.g. the chorus on "Who Must Die") when they are not descending as filthy chord chugs. There are brief moments of greater depth like the tap and trill ascent in "Murderer" or the dissonance ending "No Further Existence" but it is probably the effective and tight drumming that hold the key to a worthy future.
May 7th, 2006 |
