Review Summary: Grind Inc. provide riffage in spades.....
My first vehicle to grace highways was an ’84 Toyota Tercel. During my eight year excursion with the Japanese-make, the experience was something of a rarity. While the model came in vast quantities to the consumer, this particular vehicle in speculation has had a knack for withstanding the test of time. My parents were responsible for the initial purchase in the mid 80’s with the car gathering more than 320 thousand miles on one engine. The wear and tear of 25+ years has left the car a visual eye sore on the road but mechanically, everything was, and still is, technically sound. Only after getting the exterior repainted for a minimal fee did I get into my first, real accident. Go figure. Still, this wasn’t enough to bring the car to its collective knees. While one couldn’t expect off-road capabilities, a superior sound system and/or anything mesmerizing to the female gender, it was a guarantee that the damn thing would get you from A to B.
This, in a certain respect, is what can be taken from
Grind Inc.’s newest release Lynch and Dissect. This band has by no means been around that long but the general formula has been run of the mill for some time now. Is the song writing one dimensional? Without question…. You will be hard pressed to differentiate each song from one another and this is where most will be turned off. What
Grind Inc. do have going for them on this is the pummeling guitar work and top notch production. Aside from the growling vocals of Christoph Mieves, the listener won’t be able to distinguish much of anything aside from the crunchy guitar hooks and battering, double pedal.
This album will have lasting appeal to any grind or death metal enthusiast.
Decapitated fans please take note. Even though song structures run together, you’ll be hard pressed to find another release this year that hits as hard as this album while retaining a simple and fundamental formula. Sure, the listener may have a hard time distinguishing memorable moments from A-Z but the engagement alone is gratifying enough to be revisited on repeated listens. And these repeated listens are where one will start to engage themselves with particulars. The old school approach taken on Lynch and Dissect will be tallied with discernable characteristics of Swedish Death metaller’s
Deranged. There are no key boards, electronic meanderings, or pop culture samplings; just death metal in its purest form.
Album opener ‘Stillborn Paradise’ and the title track twist and contort with some fiendishly down-tuned guitar play and sets the mood for the rest of the album. From here on out Grind Inc. aren’t out to change your general opinions about their style of metal. You are either in or you’re out. If you’ve heard any of their previous albums this one will be the one to stand out the most, greatly in part to the clean production value. As for the song writing, things have stayed relatively uniform. Guitarist Jan Pelser is the man of the hour and hits full throttle with his technical precision on the axe. ‘Decimate’ has some extremely catchy riffage that will have any metal head running amuck and air-guitaring in their BVD’s.
There’s not really a whole lot else to be said. Grind Inc.’s greatest strengths are also their greatest weaknesses. These guys may be following the same path that Heaven Shall Burn have run for a number of years; the ‘why fix it if it’s not broken attitude’. Still, who says one can’t find enjoyment in something before it goes completely stale. This album may very well be thrown in the lot with other generic s*** heaps; i.e.
Whitechapel,
Job For A Cowboy and any other Hot Topic B-rates; but that’s entirely up to the listener. Regardless, enjoy this death metal gem for what it is.
3.2/5
