Review Summary: If this won't rip you a knew asshole I don't know what will
For what this band is worth, they rule. They're long since broken up now, and in their time together they didn't get quite the opportunity to output a lot of great material. But one thing is for sure, this band's 1990 effort, "Pneumatic Slaughter", brings not just raw and uncontrollable animosity to the table, but a sound that is unique, fresh, and easily distinguishable from the massive up rise of grind being seen at this point in time with bands such as Carcass and their "Reek of Putrification", and goregrind only just starting to peek its way into the world. This buried gem of an album can/should be looked upon years from now as one of the forerunners of the grand sound we grinders love to hear in our daily dose of crusted brutality.
This party kicks off rather oddly with a classical, colonial-esque anthem not often thought of when on the subject of the early, raw blueprints of grindcore, but surprisingly it works. This mere 20 seconds in itself is catchy, but it's not why we came here. The first real riff we hear is a groove, but it's not long before we can hear some obscure screams in the background, and soon enough the drums will go batshit insane, and the screaming will be brought into the foreground. Then the vocalist will go on his frenzy, and before you know it, it will all be a complete set. But this first track is only the first step into this bestial noise-fest.
I'm not going to exaggerate, if loud, high-pitched, obnoxious screeching guitars are your thing, then this is your album. This album is littered with this kind of thing from top to bottom. Really, no track goes by without this aspect thrown somewhere into this cauldron of riffs, and blast beats. These things by themselves may sound repulsive, but when pieced together, they form an orchestra, only this orchestra should make you want to kill yourself, but that's OK, I’d be fine with dying for grind.
Definitely one of the highlights about this album is the vocalist. Vocals are a very important of grind, and with such an unstable collection of noise, this is a very sensitive aspect in the formulation of any grindcore production. The thing about the production here though, is that much like the other grind albums being put out at this time, (or time of this album's making) it is raw, it's coarse, white noise can be heard in the background if the band is silent. That is what grind is, what it should be. I mean, just listen to Erich Keller (vocals) towards the end of "I've Seen"; no grind artist these days would ever be able to get away with that due to overproduction in the studios.
But getting back to this album, it really is a rinse-and-repeat formula here. This album is short and sweet, and offers up just what you'd probably expect from an obscure, nothing grind album of the golden days of the genre. The last track is actually my most favorite. It's the longest track, (really just because it combines a microsong with outro) but it also showcases the band doing their final performance together before the inevitable, and unfortunate breakup. It's a nostalgia thing, but at least we get some more fanfare (like the intro) to sign us out of the formidable act.
This right here is some pure stuff, and not mangled with studio instruments, and overproduced into its own grave. This is the real way to be pissed off, and it is more than worth the 10 minutes this album amounts to check it out. You won't be able to understand a single word of this, but to be perfectly honest, that makes no difference whatsoever. Somehow it has been made so that it just doesn't matter to people. In the end, whether the lyrics can be understood or not, you get an album that is as punishing as fuck, and that's really the only point in listening to this, which is a pretty good excuse if you ask me.
