The funny thing about this CD, independent of Pillory's abilities or intentions, is that it illustrates to me just how much the lines have been blurred between death metal and certain forms of metalcore these days. Because, while knowing that these guys are coming from a predominantly metal base, and seeing that the label responsible for the release is without question a death metal label, I'll be damned if the band's frantic approach to songwriting that throws a million riffs into three- to five-minute timeframes doesn't come across more like contemporary metalcore to me. Granted one big difference is that these motherfuckers can both play their instruments proficiently and write good riffs (both of which are characteristics that I'd attribute to their aforementioned metal foundation), which gives them a huge edge. Admittedly the songwriting is a little chaotic and over the top for my tastes, often focusing on intense blasts and dissonant tremolo picking contrasted with thick rhythmic chunkiness that flirts with odd time signatures and plenty of acerbic bite in the form of thrashy classic death metal on a hefty dose of crack, but I have to give them credit for unleashing a lot of technical prowess. The rhythm section definitely unloads some impressive moments, as the drummer's tight as hell and occasionally takes the time to show off a snazzy fill, while the basslines are all over the place and force their way to prominence while easily following the frenzied guitar parts. And the vocals shift from hoarse shouts and screams to quick fits of exaggeratedly low growls or shrieking sneers, which can at times be mildly irritating, though the variety does make sense within this context, and they tend to handle the more extreme vocal variations with enough tact to get by (I can't hang with all of the mangled layering and pig squealing sounding shit at the end of "The Morning Grind" at all, though). The foremost problem that my particular tastes encounter with this disc is that the songs can all start to sound the same due to the consistency of the tempos and the general riffing styles. "Irritated as a Hangnail in a Fingerfuck" enters into a nice clean passage midway through with some fucked up jazziness to the percussion, while "Nipples to Napalm" hits on some of the most memorable midpaced rhythms, but there's not a great deal of variety as a whole, and despite plenty of strong riffs, there are few segments that truly catch your ear and take hold during the listen. For the most part the sound quality's alright. Considering how intense the riffing and song structures become they've done a really good job at maintaining a sense of clarity. I think the guitars are in good shape as far as overall crunch and control, and the bass definitely adds some thickness back there. My key suggestions would be to somehow find a way to thicken up the percussion and give the bass parts a hint more roundness, while securing a touch more breathing room for the rhythm section in balancing the mix a little bit better. Because, clarity or not, there are definitely certain passages where the guitars and drums are fighting for space, and all of the vocal layering and precision bass madness are only adding to the pot. The layout looks pretty damn good, using a consistent color scheme and clean text with heavily textured imagery that all sort of has an ultra crisp feel to it. Despite some mildly silly sarcasm in song titles like "Nipples to Napalm" or "No Room for Retards", the lyrics are actually well handled, hinting at commentary on some of the bullshit cycles and patterns of modern society without being too blunt: "Pride is larger than the sum of its parts. How much can you leave behind before there's nothing left but a burnt husk? Is it self preservation, or is it self denial?" Overall this material is better than average for what it offers. I'm not won over by it, but the musicianship and ideological backbone are definitely on point. I'd say they shouldn't be afraid to slow things down a little more often, and differentiating the songs from another in some way would definitely make a huge difference. It's entirely possible that my personal listening habits simply don't gel with this approach, but whatever the case I can cite some value and quality in what they're doing, so... fans of hectic speeds and chaotic death/grind mayhem should give this a spin and see how it goes.
[Unique Leader]
Running time - 37:43, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: Glandular, Dust]
Pillory - http://www.pillorygrind.com
