Review Summary: This album is a truly enjoyable effort, as it breaks down the walls of aural conventionalism whilst retaining a great deal of lasting value
If a tree falls over in the woods, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a noise? Well, in my opinion, it does; however, that boisterous calamity does not reach the ears of the absent innocent bystander. This question does require thought, however. Is noise only noise when perceived by the auditory system? Or does noise just have to be present to occur? Eventually, it makes one ruminate about several things, such as how many trees have fallen over. How many cacophonies do we, the human race miss every moment when these trees fall? We'll never know these answers, but Combatwoundedveteran is definitely going to punish all of us with their signature form of powerviolence. And their music will certainly account for all of those cacophonies that we never got to perceive aurally with their only proper LP, “I Know A Girl Who Develops Crime Scene Photos.”
On this album, Combatwoundedveteran opt for the musical intensity with precise and ever so mechanistic pieces of grindcore and crust punk. This intense precision of insanity begins to reel the listener in and never stops achieving this feat of piquing one's interest. And even though the album is a relentless affair that spans a duration of time less than twenty minutes, the album by no means disappoints any fan of spastic powerviolence. And whilst it is quaint in nature, the album never quite seems to lose its flow or coherency, which is most definitely a plus, considering that most bands in this scene do fail to achieve that, especially on a debut LP that is littered with so many tracks of extreme, unadulterated aural assault.
“My Spine! My Spine! My Spine!” begins the album with a cantankerous bang, and begins to spiral down a path of noise. The drums begin to roll around frenetically and frantically, sporadically changing from overwhelming tempos to breakdowns in complex and compound time signatures. The guitars add to this noise, and are highly dissonant and rough in a way that is akin to their powerviolence contemporaries (or contemporaries at the time, seeing that they broke up after a six year run in 2002). The vocals take aim at being as raucous as possible, ranging from guttural grunts, yells, and shrieks. And although it seems that sonic destruction can only be so good for a short time, Combatwoundedveteran prove different, as the album runs its course.
“Watching Stock Car Racing On My Wedding Night” is the finest anthem for frustration, as it illustrates spastic heaviness in the way that the aforementioned track does, noisy cacophonous bits and all. “You'll Never Be Where I Am, Ever In Your Life” shows the complete disregard for conventionalism that Combatwoundedveteran adores, and in turn bleeds out discordance on all levels. But things soon take a turn for eerie serenity with “Folded Space: Lead Poisoning And Distortion.” This track is morose and morbid, incorporating scathing background noise atop a macabre speech that gives off a portentous vibe. And soon, the album spirals onward again into a loud and relentless affair of sonic assault that Combatwoundedveteran has branded as their own, until it ends, just as viciously as it began, with a shrill shriek of anger and terror.
Overall, this album encompasses all modes of brutality, offering the perfect soundscape for extreme frustration. The gritty production increases the unforgiving nature of this album. The shifts of tempo and time-signature are mind-jarring; however, they are not a hindrance to the music's coherency, which remains intact. The tracks are short and rarely exceed a minute. And though this may be the cause for a slew of problems, the band shows they have a tremendous penchant for urgency and intensity alike with these short bursts of noise. The excessive amount of dissonance displayed on this album match the other elements of the album perfectly, from the adept, quaint drum work, to the rigid screams that litter the album, and even halt this punishment for our failure to perceive a cacophony when it comes to us.
FINAL RATING: 4.3/5- This album is a truly enjoyable effort, as it breaks down the walls of aural conventionalism whilst retaining a great deal of lasting value.
