Rating: 8.5

Country: UK

Release Date: 2007

Record Label: Self Released

Track list:
1. Thee curses of perception (intro)
2. Shibboleths of the new panacea
3. Rational Actor / Definitive host
4. Convulsive
5. Science of money
6. Touching the face of god (interlude)
7. Sowing the poisoned hubris
8. Industrial land rape
9. Decathexis

Band Website: Reth

Reth - Precursors To Extinction

Reese - Mouth
Jim - Guitar
Paulie P. - Bass.
Smith - Drums
Wellsy Jnr. - Guitar

Here's Reth with their latest riff-entangled, blast-plastered platter. The band is made up from ol' friends and acquaintances, so once again you can expect now but bountiful bell-end buffery and sycophantic sodomy from this reviewer. This is the second article I've penned about Reth, so, to make it appear on first glance that I've written loads, I've exhumed my first one from out o' the Traumatized Records mausoleum o' offline content, a review of a gig at a smelly lokill venue in early 2005. Back then Reth had a colon in the middle, fact fans!

“…Re:th were on next, who were palatable, if a mite bland. Meat and potatoes Sludge with decent ventures into Grind is what we have here. The songs were well executed and half memorable, at times recalling the Iron Monkey or Charger vibe of yesteryear. However, they didn't seem to lunge for my attention and squeeze the last fetid breath out of it like they did the last time I saw ‘em..." 

Since then, the band have undergone line-up tweakments, nurtured their once gawky, unkempt ‘n' inarticulate offspring into a brawny ‘n' muscular yet sharp ‘n' gifted kid, the kind who'd bash your head in, but with sudden, joltin' time-changes. The catch-all term of ‘Grind' is often applied to the act, but their material surpasses the boundaries of samey crusty riffs, hoarse vox ‘n' excessive blastin', and instead combines the more convoluted, riff-entangled styles o' Brutal Death Metal and technical Grindcore. Dual fretwork pleats an elasticated riff-tapestry, but does so in the same manner that the semi-liquid fillin' of a golf-ball squirls out when you pierce it. One moment they're shreddin', the next they're lurchin', sometimes they're slammin' and others they're groovin', but without losin' stability of their technical vision, managin' to keep things as catchy as they are complex. Underneath the guitar-string needlework, the percussive textile itself is also rather inventive ‘n' intricate, full o' knotty blast rhythms, cross-stitched toms and Suffolk puff-kicks, whilst the bass bludgeons along with rumbly abandon. The vokills are very nice too, findin' rather an effective balance ‘tween red-faced, soppin'-brow bawlin' and moist, windy gutturals, frequently employin' the former durin' the pinched harmonics to make the overall effect doubly piercin'. Although there are no lyrics printed ‘pon the sleeve, the themes seem rather profound ‘n' pensive rather than harpin' on and on about disease, necrophilia, guts ‘n' rape, and titles like "Shibboleths of the New Panacea" ought to have you thumbin' the dictionary.

Precursors… takes the claustrophobic, vacuum-packed atmospheres of percussive technical Death Metal like dear ol' Suffo, Immolation ‘n' Gorguts, modernisin' the heavin' bulk by stabbin' its flabby structures wi' sizeable shards o' obliterative, head-powderin' stuff like Defeated Sanity ‘n' maybe a few Deeds o' Flesh. The wrigglin' mess is then zipped up in a thick, neatly woven, tightly fittin' woolly Grindcore body bag, which uses Relapse Records stitchin' methods to inter-knit bits o' Pig Destroyer, Cephalic Carnage, Nasum ‘n' maybe a few threads o' classick The Dillinger Escape Plan into the fetchin' garment. Like any band from a cheerfully in-bred family scene, Reth also take influence from within their own incestuous circle, so you'll find strands o' the grab-baggery of Executive Distraction Tasks, the high-speed, judderin' stop-startery of Narcosis, and the writhin' free-form rhythms of Tangaroa neatly plaited into the work.

Recorded by Rob from the aforely abovementioned EDT, the material has been galvanized by an exceptionally clear ‘n' crushin' production, with molten riff-ore and white-hot throat terror ladled liberally over a crisp ‘n' cuttin' rhythm section. There is a couple o' disconcertin' moments where the guitars suddenly drop out of the mix, but I assume this was done intentionally, in order to enhance the volatile feel o' the material.

If you're into diverse Brutal Death and versatile Grind, then you'll certainly warm to Reth. My copy is a limited edition of the release which came packaged with a free tea-bag, so I warmed to it immediately. Unfortunately, the release is rather short, leavin' little breathin' space to explore 'n' unravel their labyrinthine performance, although its length does leave you feelin' ready to listen to it again right away, the second or third listen bein' the point at which the buried hooks exhumed themselves and speared me right in t'neck. I've heard talk about the bands possible appearance at this year's Obscene Extreme festival, so see you there!

January 10th, 2007