HARDWARES

The third full-length for this group of genre-bending Australian grinders (nope, not a metalcore band, don’t let the name fool ya) finds them on their third label, US extreme heavyweight Willowtip. It’s a fitting home for such ear-bruising music, and here the seven songs (in 43 minutes; these guys take their time, despite constantly racing to the finish line, grindcore-style) impress with their style, sound, and approach, all of which prove the band is in a category of their own. Love the MISTRESS-style blast beats over doom/sludge riffing (I’m also thinking CLINGING TO THE TREES OF A FOREST FIRE here, which is a good thing), the atmospheric black tendencies, the near-NEUROSIS ebbs and flows (see ‘Throatless Sirens’), the progressive death metal vibe that is promised (first three songs are all eight-plus minutes) but never delivers, which is refreshing and tantalizing in its teasing (not to get too touchy feely here). The energy on this album is off the walls, mainly due to that non-stop drumming workout, which is beautifully inappropriate at points, all blasting and filling when the rest of the band is just trying to do some easy quick tremolo picking to catch a breather. Totally unique, adventurous, and highly energetic, the sheer reach of this one makes it a bit daunting after a few songs (seriously, after only the second song, I gave a rather tired look over at iTunes to see how far into the album I was), but other than that, this is really great stuff, leading the way in progressive grind/death/doom.