Where were you the first time you heard death metal/grind? I was at work, listening to tapes I made of a local radio show that played punk/hardcore and a mix of reggae, rap, underground metal and the odd whatever else. They trotted things out in blocks – now bands that would eventually become Seattle grunge, now bands that would eventually become Berkeley bubblepunk, now Earache sampler bands.

The Earache sampler set immediately had my attention. Carcass, Bolt Thrower, Morbid Angel, Godflesh, Napalm Death; a selection of what were progenetic forms of my ever-since-favorite musical genres. I can and have gone on and on about why this music continues to appeal to me, but why that particular set appealed to me was the way the textures blended with the vast, expansive, shit-poor production. I wanted to understand how they captured that much richness with that little production value. Each of the bands went on to increase their budgets and improve their craft, creating varying ideals of heavy metal production, but on the sampler they sounded dirty, organic and live.

Blunt Knife Idol tore my head right back to that job, that sampler, that overwhelming underproduced joy. These guys play grind-fast, grind-short, death metal-powered music at the edge of chaos. And they do it with a shit ton of echo and low-mids production that just screams Grind Crusher. More than anything, it is the vocal style and production that harkens back, fondly, to that glorious comp. It is so deep, gruff, and echoed that it almost becomes just another percussion instrument.

Meanwhile, the guitars chug and thrash crisply, like they just stepped out of a gig opening for Discharge or nascent Napalm Death. The drumming however is very modern, very post 90’s in the best sense. “Mask the Apathy” is a perfect demonstration of the band’s simultaneous throwback/modern staging. The whole mix, when the speed kicks in, verges on the aural equivalent of perfectly thrown combos landing directly on your nose. It is invigorating, confusing and immediate.

The compositions are very reminiscent of early Napalm Death; sometimes furiously blasty, sometimes chuggingly moshy, sometimes hardcoringly angry – and occasionally doom-slow and lethargic. That the whole remains appealing to someone who still bathes in the glory of the elder grind speaks to the band’s energy and DGAF ethos, more than originality. But appeal it does. It very does. See the hilarious horn intro and crushingly slow pacebreakers in “Take Their Lives” to understand that the band gets what made and makes death/grind metal such a despicable joy, such improbable fun. It makes me want to be twenty one, hopeless and thirsty for something live and new again.

And it kind of gives it to me. I listen to this and feel that glorious fuck-the-world kid who still kicks my medulla now and then stomping around in a circle, head thrashing, impossibly and drunkenly energetic, violent, aimless. Honestly, I am not sure what else I could hope for from a death/grind record.

If you are old enough to crave those distant, ugly days when blokes were bloking unknowingly, look into Greed Heritage. If you are young enough not to know what the hell I am going on about, look into Greed Heritage. If you just want dirty, thick, fun and furious grind, definitely look into Greed Heritage.

[Visit the band's website]

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