Grindcore mainstays Phobia are back with their 6th full length, and on this newest one they made the odd choice to introduce… clean vocals and female gothic influences?!? Ummm… No. This is straight up ass-melting grindcore, and it’s what these guys have been pummeling eardrums with for over 20 years.

When you can personify the genre so well, there’s little reason to change. The style is the same, but the band has some new faces in addition to the mainstays. Original vocalist Shane McLachlan provides the shrieks and growls, former Kill the Client drummer Bryan Fajardo handles the percussion and Calum Mackenzie provides the bass work. New to the fold are guitarists CC Loessin and Dorian Rainwater, who provide the stabbing, discordant riffs that deliver the awesomely painful experience grind lovers eat up. Scott Hull (Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Pig Destroyer) handled the production, and the album is that much better off for it. There is an awesome low-end punch that really adds meat to the maelstrom, so fans of recorded-in-a-garbage-can grindcore should probably stay away.

The whole album clocks in at 18 tracks and just under 20 minutes, again what you would expect from pioneers of the genre so going into a track-by-track analysis is pointless. It’s not all warp-speed, as third track “Submission Hold” sees the band slow down into a Dying Fetus-esque breakdown about halfway through, which really perked my ears up. But overall this band wants to get your blood pressure up, and keep it there as long as possible. There are also some humorous samples thrown in, of note the opener to “Let It Go”. They’re not overdone by any means, and add a nice touch the album as a whole. Like Napalm Death, Wormrot, etc? Then you’ll like this.

 

[Visit the band's website]

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