Grindcore has always been on the fringe of everything current in the metal scene. The first time I heard Napalm Death’s Scum I have to admit I was completely put off. Here were these blasts of noise that were nowhere near long enough to be actual songs, nor could I tell whether the record should be at 33 or 45. It was completely perplexing to me. Obviously, I got over it. But the shock value that is often associated with Grind, and then its later successor Power Violence, had reared its ugly head.

Move forward almost 30 years, and bands have evolved to utilize that primal aggression, but also incorporate elements of more main stream and fine-tuned metal styles. One of those bands is Amsterdam’s Teeth Grinder. With the release of Misanthropy, we find the band on their second release, and already honing an all-encompassing audio assault that screams for a vast listening audience, while still maintain that shocking and paralyzing neo blast.

The band’s first release was an E.P. 7” called Hellbound. That release contains the track “187”, which also is represented on the full-length, and still maintains one of the most powerful outputs by the band. The real damage is presented in the fourth track “Desolation”. The band pairs Doom with groove, not dissimilar to a Crowbar track, but then kicks into high assault mode with the blasting barrage of noisy violence that permeates the album. Add to that the tortured, blood curdling vocals, and you have a much sustained impact that really wakes you up for the following eight tracks.

The band utilizes a lot of samples, as is common place in Grindcore, but also explores some slow paced instrumentation like a Neurosis, or Isis. But the think that really stuck out for me, was the well-tempered use of Black Metal style, atmospheric keyboards and guitar riffing. Well, it sounds like keyboards, it could be all guitars. Either way, it lends an excellent texture to the album that your standard Grindcore album lacks.

If there is a band that can rise above its common shackles and expand its reach, without changing a thing musically, I think Teeth Grinder could and should be it. Where bands that played the Gothenburg style Death Metal started tremendously, and then tampered out and became almost commercial, I think Teeth Grinder will hold that fort of sonic explosion.

 

[Visit the band's website]

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