Benumb "By Means of Upheaval" CD
[Relapse]
Benumb's back with another full-length, this time slamming through 22 tracks of pure, blasting, socially aware grindcore fury in about 27 minutes. There are no great surprises here, though the songs can be a bit more boisterous on occasion and the vocals are slightly less over the top (though often the vocal patterns are faster than ever). There are also some total death metal riffs (in the early 90's style) which sort of took me by surprise. But as usual they generally tend to tear through songs in no more than two minutes, usually much less, and the tempos gravitate towards the speedier side of things. Even though the speed can be tedious, they're tight as shit, especially the drummer, so I must give them credit for that. Some of the extremes on this particular offering are the overly "technical for the sake of being technical" nonsense riffs in "Programming the Cranial Void" and the slow and sludgy mastery of "Medicated Into Submission", complete with some feedback and samples... fucking incredible. The production's not bad at all but there's something missing. I'm not exactly sure what it is. It's sort of raw (in a good way), but at the same time it's not... I think my main issue is that the mix is just too chaotic and messy for the songs to unload their full potential. When things slow down the forcefulness tends to increase because the faster they play the more of a blur it becomes. The vocals are also mixed a bit loud, but the clarity issue is the biggest problem that needs to be dealt with. It doesn't hold the record back too much, but it does make a difference. The layout is fucking awesome, though. The artwork looks similar to that of their first full-length as far as having tons of pessimistic imagery intricately collaged together with a very consistent color scheme, but this time they even went so far as to include some of the lyrics and song explanations in the booklet! Finally! Sure, they only included the lyrics for seven of the songs, but that's a start, and the lyrics are great! "Social parasite feeding from a host, In the midst of economic ruin, Fulfilling that which cannot be accomplished, In this economy, Constant struggle to squeeze by, Consume or be consumed, Circumvent homelessness, By submission to increasing rent." And as always the band is very gracious and supportive of the scene via huge thanks lists and a list of contact information for other bands, labels, and zines in the extreme music scene. Very cool. The one thing that never fails to impress me about Benumb is their absolute sincerity. It really makes a difference in their music and I hold a great appreciation for that aspect of their attitude. I don't think this is their strongest record, but it's not a disappointment at all. (7/10)
Running time - 26:41, Tracks: 22
[Notable tracks: Decimation to All That Which Resembles Compromise, Oppressing Binds of Silence, Medicated Into Submission, Free Trade, Global Slavery, Engraved Into the Psyche, Gutted Out/Spit On, Fixation of Complacent Self-Loathing]
Relapse Records - http://www.relapse.com

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