Yacopsae - Tanz, Grosny, Tanz CD review artwork

Rating: 9.0

Country: Germany

Release Date: 2007

Track list:
1. Tanz, Grosny, Tanz .. (0:49)
2. Bedeutungslos (0:49)
3. Drama (1:11)
4. Verbrannt (0:51)
5. Eiland (1:10)
6. Fдulnis (1:06)
7. A.(R)SCH (1:16)
8. Profilneurotiker (0:57)
9. Themenabend (1:05)
10. Drahtseilakt (1:05)
11. Deutschnazional (1:34)
12. Adenauer (0:43)
13. Frost (1:51)
14. Narrenkappe (1:03)
15. Antagonismus (0:48)
16. Maranatha (0:52)
17. Kreislaufkollaps (1:33)
18. Erkenntnistheorie (0:40)
19. Herz (0:58)
20. Nebenraum (0:52)
21. Hassbatzen (0:49)
22. Metaphysik (0:12)
23. Sch(W)Ein (1:57)
24. Skalpiert (0:47)
25. Vogelfrei (2:43)

Band Website: Yacopsae

Yacøpsæ - Tanz, Grosny, Tanz

Stoffel - Guitar/ VoKills
Frank - Bass
Emu - Drums

Here they are. Everyone knows this band like to play physiognomy-shreddin', skull-pulverisin' Grind, often reachin' the some o' the most dizzingly high-tempos in the entire stinkin' underground, so be sure to don protective headgear ‘n' facewear in preparation for their latest. Mind you, you might not need your blast-proof visor in place for the whole thing, ‘cos the band have decided to explore just half a handful o' melodious textures this time around, so that ought to give you a chance to get out the bandages before they smash off the front of yer head again. Having had time to piece my ears ‘n' face back together after watchin' them perform at Obscene Extreme '07, with a jaw-lolloping, noggin wallopin' set that included a couple o' cuts from this new ‘en, I was more than willing to receive a new bout of lug buggery from their latest studio work, in the comfort of my own hole.

Yacøpsæ have been around quite a while now, with a towerin' stack o' splits, EPs, CDs ‘n' compilation appearances under their blastulated belts, and I'd be surprised if any keen Grind enthusiast hadn't already enjoyed at least a little bit o' their hefty back-catalogue. Tearin' out greasy chunks o' very old Hardcore Punk, Crossover ‘n' Proto-Grind, the three-piece ladle on lots ‘n' lots o' old skool Grindcore ‘n' Power Violence, then microwave the quiverin' mass on full power until it pops everywhere, allowin' them to easily exceed any previously established boundaries or blu-prints o' envelope-pushery in terms of speed ‘n' intensity. In exactly the same manner as which one or two fellow Grind-buffs assured me before I listened to it, you can tell that this is Yacøpsæ within the first few seconds! From the get-go you'll get hyperactive percussive annihilation, unfeasibly expeditious guitarwork, hideously vociferous high-pitched bawlin' ‘n' impossibly tight stop/startery, all delivered with disorientatin' giddiness in order to take you to a lofty plateau of total Grindcore ecstasy.

But how does it compare to their previous speed-crazed excursions? Well, it certainly has the unstoppable rage o' Einstweilige Vernichtung, which was a sweat-drenched exercise in musical nullification, laryngeal laceration ‘n' cymbal obliteration, but also possesses a little o' the moderation ‘n' ever so slightly slower, catchier bits o' Fuck Punk Rock…This is Turbo Speed Violence, plus some o' the atmospheric variety used on the split releases I've heard. On Einstweilige…, it often feels like the band have anthropomorphized their drum-kit and assigned my physical features to it's key components afore commencin' with a persistent, violent smashery of my snare-skull ‘n' chin-cymbal, leavin' me gleefully in bits by the end, but with Tanz…, they've made the grindin' hostility appear twice as ferocious by bufferin' it with a couple o' slightly more measured ‘n' melodious passages. So, to complement the vicious facial-maulin', you'll also hear tuneful departures ‘n' a few sprinkles o' subtlety, a good example being "Frost", which is rather a sombre, Black Metal-stained number, which opens on a bleak ‘n' dismal chord sequence, punctuated by urgent red-faced eruptions, afore pilin' headlong into the song proper. Elsewhere, you'll be awarded breathin' space in the shape of short but sweet, razor-sharp riffular catchiness ‘n' jus' a handful o' nice shout-along vokill lines.

As their loyal listeners will all know, the band have a sound that is similar to a fair few other acts with elements o' this, parts o' that and aspects o' the other, but at the end o' the day, their work is unmistakable, and Tanz… is no exception; it has the Yacøpsæ logo printed, nay, embedded right the way along its length like a delicious boiled sugar confection-truncheon (or ‘rock', as it is traditionally referred to in the UK), but the kind that comes to life ‘n' punches your teeth out when you try ‘n' bite a bit off. Indeed, comparin' them to a cylindrical rod o' candy is a classick case of this reviewer tryin' to dodge his way out of his own paragraph by hidin' behind jocularity afore makin' an ungraceful escape, so I should try and find a few of their stylistic connections, or do some kind of ‘for fans of…' thing at the very least. If you log onto their MySpace , you'll see an extensive collection o' logos pasted onto their ‘Influences' section, but a fair few o' the acts cited therein are barely detectable within their actual compositions. I guess you could say their sound takes the simplistic structures ‘n' anarchistic uproar o' vintage stuff like Infest, Siege ‘n' Drop Dead, the highly-strung blustery raucosity o' dusty ol' Despise You, silly ol' Fuck on the Beach and perhaps a lil' Charles Bronson ‘n' maybe some Exclaim too, wonderfully degraded by a liberal smudge o' the noise-driven middle-finger styles o' Anal Cunt ‘n' 7 Minutes o' Nausea. These are just very rough ideas ‘n' suggestions of where their style comes from, ‘cos as stated above, the band possess a highly distinctive sound ‘n' inimitable delivery and the only recent(ish) stuff I can think of that comes close to it is something like the last Firin' Squad outin', or Warscars or someone.

The production is quite similar in quality to that given to previous Yacøpsæ works; you've got extremely upfront percussion right in yer face, hard ‘n' dry ‘n' gritty guitar sound, huge snare-drum bludgeon ‘n' white-hot vokill stirred into the middle of it all. My only problem with it is the over-production of the quickfire stops ‘n'starts. Instead of soundin' like the whole band has come to a complete standstill for a split second, with strings muted, cymbals gripped ‘n' mouths closed, it sounds more like they've discontinued the recordin', wandered off for a brew, then carried on with it a bit later. Come on Yacøpsæ, those of us who've seen you play know you're more than capable of performin' those shudderin' stops ‘n' starts without studio comforts, so be careful if you're goin' play on the gate (or limiter [or mute button]), ‘cos you might fall ‘n' hurt yerselves.

Any other such blast-besotted act ought to be holdin' themselves up against the Yacøpsæ yard-stick at every rehearsal. The average Metal or Punk fan would much rather inject a variety of cleaning products into their genitals than listen to the works o' this band, but if you've a penchant for enormously abrasive Grindcore, then you ought to acquire Tanz, Grosny, Tanz immediately ‘cos they're the cream o' the crop! Very, very good indeed.

February 3rd, 2007