Untitled / Procreating Terror

Prolific and long-standing political Japanese grind outfit Unholy Grave seem to be one of those bands along with Agathocles and Archagathus who surely have what must be a lucrative split-7-inch-for-hire side hustle, pimping out their tunes for anyone willing to pay for them and press them to vinyl. For unproductive and short-lived indie label Blastcore Records, this provided an opportunity for a kick-ass inaugural first release featuring Fresno, California-based power violence group Straight Edge Kegger, self-proclaimed "Fresno's fastest" and "Schwarzenegger-era hardcore." What is captured here is a dingy, noisy, punked-out aural assault that's good for a few minutes of thrashing but also destined to be lost in obscurity among the hundred other split releases the Nagoya mince veterans have to their credit.

Side A is dedicated to Straight Edge Kegger, who I have been fascinated by for the longest time, starting back when I would research new straight edge hardcore bands and see their records always popping up in the search (not that they're actually straight edge). Their performances are ultra sloppy and super speedy. At times the guitars struggle to keep up with the drumming, but with the majority of these tracks being under 20 seconds, the listener barely has time to notice. Meg's grating voice cuts through the lo-fi punk slosh like rusty serrated knives on chalkboard, and an equally ear-piercing guitar solo concludes this side of the split on the final song "Big Fucken Mouth." The band can barely play coherently, yet that's exactly their appeal. The energy lacks any sort of funnel to direct it into real songs the listener can get behind, but as a whole the short bursts of cacophony have a blindsiding effect that's as jolting as it is refreshing.

Unholy Grave's side kicks off with "Realities of Terrorism," full of driving blast beats and even a semblance of melody to boot. It's actually a better sounding recording than the version that ended up on their full-length Terroraging Crisis, which brings up something worth mentioning: all of these songs either can be found previously recorded on earlier releases or would be re-recorded for future releases, or both. It's unrealistic to imagine a small band like this would have totally new material for the tens of dozens of projects under their bullet belt, but the absence of novelty doesn't hinder the music. In fact, Unholy Grave is in top form here with a perfectly constructed foursome of riotous yet catchy crust/grind stompers. The production gives off that feeling of standing in the studio listening to the band play a raw live set. The mood is exceptionally fun and the sound is as unfiltered as possible.

Splits like these can be interesting. They always have one group that's head and shoulders objectively superior to the other(s). On this, Unholy Grave is that group. The quality of their partner band(s) can be very hit or miss. Straight Edge Kegger is an acquired taste, likely most people's miss, despite their advantage of bringing to the table all new material. For potential UG fans, I say pick up one or two LPs of theirs and call it a day. These splits are more for the other bands.