Respect / Stained

Yes!!! Two of my favorite grindcore bands going at it! US grinders Excruciating Terror meet up with my fellow country men, the legendary Agathocles, hurling a raucous dose of grinding madness at the casual listener.

First up, Excruciating Terror, gracing us with their brand of metallic crust/grind. Combining crustcore riffing with utterly savage blasting sections and crawling doomed-out parts, Excruciating Terror lands somewhere between bands like Phobia and Dystopia. The low grunt and piercing screams add a truly menacing edge to the downtuned guitars at play, and this stuff sounds utterly deranged and menacing. It's pretty amazing to hear them cram grindcore velocity, crusty hardcore speed and a smattering of glacial pacing into their short songs without it becoming a total mess. The only thing that leaves some to be desired is the muffled production, giving me the idea that there has been dust collecting under the needle of my record player. It makes the band's sharp attack sound somewhat fuzzy and dull, blunting their impact somewhat, unfortunately.

After that we get the emperors of the split release, Agathocles. Utilizing the same formula as Excruciating Terror, but in a simpler and gruffer way, which sees the band hack itself a way through a couple of primarily straightforward tracks, high on energy and intent. Jan and his band of merry men deal with death-flecked grindcore, done by way of old Napalm death and Fear of God (SUI), alternating between heavy midtempo stomp and blastbeat driven frenzy. On top of this sturdy formula, we get a growling vocal approach that is layered with a nasty dose of raw screaming, adding another vicious edge to the music. The track "Will to Kill" even sees them dabble with a mutated groove amidst their noisy thrashings, which works well in the big picture. Wrapped in a gritty but clear and natural production, these two tracks manage to hit their target without fail.

Certainly this is a release worth treasuring. It has two legendary grindcore acts shaking hands, with some great music on offer to boot. If you don't know where to start looking in that vast sea of Agathocles releases, this one is an excellent starting point, I say.