Inhale/Exhale

Grindcore, to me, is one of the hardest, if not THE hardest genres to review. When songs are as short as a few seconds, what can one say about such an effort? Most of the time, I tend to find grindcore quite boring, which is odd considering it’s infamous for being incredibly intense. Nasum are perhaps one of, if not the only grindcore band I can stomach. Whilst there isn’t much difference in terms of the irritating song lengths, there is a notable difference in portrayal and sound.

‘Inhale/Exhale’ seems like an ironic title to me. It’s as if Nasum are saying, ‘breath and you’ll miss it’. Which is in fact quite true. Most of the songs, as I’ll keep stressing, are short. There isn’t an awful lot of time to grasp the content of the lyrics as the vocalist screams them out just as fast as each tune is spun out. From one track to another, all in quick succession. The only emotive quality one could seemingly pull from the wreckage that is grindcore, is the fact that it’s going to be an aggressive assault on the sense. Albeit a quick assault. Kind of like a smash and grab raid, if you will.

The trick with grindcore is to submerge yourself into the music. If you successfully manage to do so, one track will merge into the other. So, essentially, you’re listening to one long song, which could be seen as a benefit, or the total opposite. Why? Well, grindcore is something I can only listen to if I’m in a very specific mood. Basically, I must be angry. If I’m angry, Nasum are usually the band I turn to. In terms of releasing stress to, Nasum are unbeatable. But if you’re looking at grindcore to have something to feel sad to, or any other emotion other than anger, you’re in the wrong place. This will either have to moshing to your heart’s content, or it will induce a headache. The idea of grindcore is mystifying to me. I understand it’s short and sharp bursts of intense emotion, but it’s so incredibly one dimensional, it’s almost not worth it, most of the time.

Whilst I do think highly of Nasum, albums like ‘Inhale/Exhale’ are to be stored away for a rainy, or should that be angry day as that is the only real form of emotion that is on offer. The guitars and percussion tend to leave the bass behind, which is unfortunate. Bass doesn’t have much of a place in the grindcore genre, unless we’re talking about double bass on the drums. Then and only then is it affective. As far as stand out songs go, the title track is by far and away the best song on the album. It’s passion is remarkable, but when it comes to the other songs, most are seen as fillers, or just nonsensical additions. The only other song I can think of that is worth a mention is ‘Worldcraft’.