Holy shit! "Brutal grind assault" is fuckin' right! With this demo these Swiss bashers crank out 12 tracks of raging grindcore in less than 15 minutes, with plenty of variety and a ton of energy. I didn't know until after being floored that the band contains members of Knut, Nostromo, Deceit, and Stumpfucking, so that probably has at least something to do with the level of quality exhibited throughout, but regardless of the parties responsible, this is an incredible demo. The recording kicks ass, the songwriting kicks ass... you can't lose. The band's mission statement includes playing "really brutal and blasting death/grind ala Terrorizer, Brutal Truth, etc.", and I'd damn sure say they've succeeded - but not without throwing in a strong sense of groove as well as a more modern sense of dissonance that all gels together to create more dynamics within the compact song structures. Meanwhile, the vocals range from forceful low growls to snarling upper range sneers, all with plenty of texture thanks to the killer recording. Seriously, this fucker sounds way better than most of the proper releases that I hear when it comes to grindcore. Aside from a slight lack of bass guitar in the mix, all of the levels are balanced, the drums sound crisp yet still pack a wallop, the guitars are dense as fuck and perfect in every way, and the vocals are surprisingly clear. My only real suggestion would be to add a little more bass presence to give the basslines added space, but everything else is pretty much dead on. In addition to the classic grindcore sensibilities exhibited by their Terrorizer and Brutal Truth influences, I'd also of course toss in some mid-period Napalm Death due to their ability to jump from raging speeds to burly chunks of tactfully twisted groove, while playing with the precision and caustic edge of some of the more contemporary acts associated with the Selfmadegod label, for example. "P?t?" drops a couple of borderline melodic rhythms (very intriguing) along with an unexpected death metal breakdown, and some of the tremolo picking shifts in "Tavernik Gr?wl" are more death metal oriented as well. But the aptly titled "Blasting Fetus" and "Breubreu", along with the thrashy "Nailed Pig", are nothing short of relentless. "Lourd" is the only tune that hits two minutes, maintaining a sludgier and more consistent midpaced churn to its chord progressions and percussive patterns; whereas some of the subtly groovy arrangements like "New 2" and "Running Pig" are a little more intricate than expected, and somehow manage to come off as catchy without lacking dissonance or sheer aggression. The CD-R comes in a slim jewel case with a color xeroxed cover that looks pretty decent, though the fact that the tracklist appears as a plain sticker on the back of the tray is a little disappointing, and the overall presentation lacks the overwhelming quality that the musicianship and recording offer. Were the packaging a little more interesting I'd bump this one up to an 8/10, so I'll definitely be expecting these guys to get signed and do some major damage in the future. Absolutely check this one out. There's not a weak song on this fucker. Great work.
[self-released]
Running time - 14:12, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: New 2, P?t?, Lourd, Running Pig]
Mumakil - http://www.mumakil.ch
