Agatho Grave

In the land of grindcore, bands like Napalm Death, Carcass and Bolt Thrower are trees with their roots in the underground yet are visible to anyone who travels to this part of the metal world (a part which has shared jurisdiction with the world of punk if we're keeping this analogy accurate). Agathocles and Unholy Grave, on the other hand, are networks of a subterranean fungus, invisible to those just taking a stroll through the land, but well known to anyone who digs beneath the surface.

You'd be hard-pressed to find two bands more devoted to the underground. Both have released material with countless bands, famous and obscure from across the spectrum of extreme music. Thus it's no surprise that this is neither the first nor the last time the two bands have appeared together on a split (Agonies/No Gain - Just Pain and .....to Protect/Rotten World but No Bore Shit!! were released in 1996 and 2000 respectively while Demoniac Human Beast/Go Fucking Nihilist was released in 2014). This particular one sees the two bands covering each other's songs (an old standby for splits).

Expect dueling high and low growls, done-before-you-notice-it song structures, punk beats, thrash beats and blast-beats, and not a single guitar solo. Both bands cleave so tightly to the grind playbook, it'll be more illustrative to focus on their differences. Unholy Grave's side has a fuller sound with more clarity. On Agathocles side, the lowness of the fidelity is most evident in Jan Frederickx's vocals which experience a lot of clipping. Both vocalists are founding members of their respective bands (even sixteen years ago when Agatho Grave was released, Jan was the only member remaining from Agathocles' beginning) and here fulfill this role like second nature, handling both the lows and highs. Unholy Grave's Takaho Komatsu has greater range with some truly nasty screeches. Jan is throatier with phlegm factoring heavily into his performance.

In track selection, Unholy Grave again comes out on top (though Agathocles deserves part of the credit for having written the songs in the first place). Unholy Grave were able to pick some real gems from the Belgians' catalog which was already extensive by this point. “Enough”, taken from the varied Razor Sharp Daggers LP, features a vocal pattern which, along with the riff beneath it, is reminiscent of Nunslaughter's “Killed by the Cross”. The song also has some (still indecipherable) clean vocals, something which also pops up on “Here and Now”, a cut from the Audiorrea split. Weirder still, the latter song throws in some melodic guitar. Don't worry, this side of the split remains grindcore through and through, with “Splattered Brains” and “Consuming Endoderme Pus” from Agathocles' cult demos delivering enough brutality to put to shame any posturing slam band.

The Agathocles side has some good choices too, though more homogeneous. Each track was featured on one of Unholy Graves' first three albums (usually after appearing on various demos, EPs or splits), but Agathocles' renditions take their cue from the most metallic of the LPs: the debut Crucified. Dirk Cuyks' guitar tone would be at home on an old DM demo. The quick but halting drum pounding that starts “Failure Teaches Success” and frequent trills of “Kurdistan” also bring DM to mind. “Kim after Kim” shakes things up with a clear hardcore influence. One aspect that brings down this side, and it's probably not the band's fault, is the extended silence at the end of each track. We're talking around ten seconds every song; enough to be noticeable and kill the flow of the album. In this genre, that's a problem.

Some words on the lyrics. I'm right wing, but respect these two lefty bands. Their beliefs seem more genuine than the anarchist sloganeering of Arch Enemy or the careful rebelliousness of any of those millionaire musicians wearing Che Guevara tees. Unholy Grave deserve credit for not always sticking to the partisan position and for opposing tyranny of all kind. On this split, they have a song decrying the Kim dynasty for the suffering it's wrought upon North Korea, as well as one advocating an independent nation for the Kurdish people (years before that position was widely known, let alone supported).

The classy visuals of Agatho Grave deserve mention. Silver on black makes for a striking presentation. Jesus, recently resurrected with face buried in palm, is an attention-grabbing cover image, but I'm more intrigued by the drawings found in the booklet and on the back and inlay, which depict concentration camp victims drawn thick and angular; certainly a nod to the cover of Unholy Grave's Crucified. This split is not without its flaws—either band has produced more significant material—but for fans struggling over which in a sea of releases they should get next, this is a safe and easy choice.