Review Summary: Fasten your seatbelts.
Grindcore is undoubtedly the most abrasive subgenre of all the metal. According to wikipedia, grindcore is characterized by heavily distorted, down-tuned guitars, high-speed tempo, blast beats, and vocals which consists of incomprehensible growls, or high-pitched shrieks. I agree wholeheartily. And what do all of these aforementioned things have in common? Spoonful of Vicodin.
Spoonful of Vicodin is like no other band you've ever seen. Formed in 2008, this two-piece grindcore/powerviolence outfit have unleashed some of the most extreme music ever created upon the unsuspecting world. Forget Carcass, Nasum or Gaza, these guys are the real deal. With their sound deeply rooted in both hardcore and grind and powerviolence, Spoonful of Vicodin take no prisoners with their face-melting riffs and maniacal vocals. Enter
Bursts of Rage at the Speed of Hate.
The first thing a careful listener will notice is the vicious assault of unearthly guitar riffs that other bands only dream of dreaming. Crust riffs, death metal riffs, tremolo-picked riffs, other riffs, these guys have it all. Another thing that deserves mention is the guitar tone.
The vocalist is also one of the factors that participate in the genius of this band. I doubt he has any idea what he's yelling but his screams are ear piercing and hard hitting, and that's what counts. He even goes as far as to SWITCH between high-pitched shrieks and low gutturals, trying to do his best Lord Worm impression. Sadly, his range in the low territory is seriously lacking, unconsciously pulling a Once Was Not instead of None So Vile (man, that album was a piece of ***). Best example of the intensity of his vocal delivery is the song 'Sacrificed for the Thrash', mainly its outro which follows the pattern of AHHRHAHARHAAHAHHRAHHAHRAHAAARAAAAAAAAAHHAHAH, thus adding another layer of textural density to an already dense and textural song. Jacob Bannon watch out.
The drumming is your typical hit-everything-in-sight-just-be-sure-to-be-fast-as-f
uck grind affair. It isn't the most creative drumwork out there (but then again after listening to Nile nothing is), but the drummer gets the job done nicely, never stealing the spotlight for himself but instead providing a solid backbone for the annihilating riffs. The songs themselves are a constant battle between drums, vocals and guitar to out rule each other, a theater of madness and destruction.
Describing bass on a grind record is never an easy task but this album is different. It has no bass. It initially came to me as a surprise that the album was recorded without the aid of a bass but as i delved deeper into the realms of grindcore knowledge i realized that such an addition would prove contra productive since the guitars are more than sufficient source of chaos and the bass could potentially restore order to the ongoing madness, something that is dreaded by every true grinder.
In conclusion, Spoonful of Vicodin have created an earth-shattering hardcore record that is up there with Symphonies of Sickness and Phantom Lamb as one of the most brutal sonic attacks ever conceived. Sup.
