Reaping the Whirlwind

This is the only album by sludgy powerviolence band California Love. I do wonder why they decided to call this release an album as it is not longer than their EP’s. This album is just 12 minutes long. You might think this is very short, but this is a powerviolence band first and foremost. Such short album lengths are common in this genre. I guess they just thought the material was of high quality enough to warrant being called an album.

I would say that this album most closely resembles classic material done by the classic sludge/crust band Dystopia. The most obvious difference is that the tempo changes are more extreme and sudden. I would also say that the songs are not as angsty and filled with tension. This is a fun album unlike the classic material Dystopia released. This is not as chaotic as a lot of more pure powerviolence releases however. The production values are pretty much fine on this release. It sounds modern but powerful. The mix is pretty good as well, every part is as audible as they should be. I own the jewel case edition of this release and i have to add that the art of this edition is rather bare bones.

A lot of powerviolence and grindcore out there are very similar these days. The average quality is very high but at the same time a lot of the bands are not really distinguishable from the others. This album however manages to stand apart from the pack. Beyond that the songs here are all of high quality, the band managed to create their own sound, even though it is heavily based on Dystopia and to a lesser but still noticeable extend Siege. I just cannot think of any powerviolence band that also sounds like this. It would have been nice however if this album was a tadlonger but this is a common ”ailment” for very good albums.

I whole heartedly recommend this to everyone who likes grindcore, powerviolence, Crust and Sludge. If you are not familiar with powerviolence this is a good starting point for the genre.
Now you know.... get this thing.