Grimness 69 - The Bridge
Grimness 69 was born of the ashses of hardcore-grindcore band Vallium, and since 2001 the group has been going strong in a similar fashion, except playing death-grindcore this time. 'The Bridge' is the band's third full length album to date (not including all their split work with other artists) and it carries the gritty, ferocious weight that makes death-grindcore so enjoyable. For one, it draws on the influence of bands like Incantation and Naplam Death in the sense that it is more death metal than grindcore- which is usually so heavy and fast that there isn't too much to appreciate save for how ferocious the musicians are with their instruments. Here, the grindcore elements are seen more in the dark, churning atmosphere of the music while the music itself is full of chugging, energetic riffs mixed with growls and an attitude that would even send the undead running. Some tracks like "The Shining Key" are fast and hard, with blinding drums and pulsing riffs that play off each other for the best effect. Others like "Down To The Bone" go for a slower, catchier rhythm that can get a bit repetitive, but is still highly enjoyable. The production value sometimes makes the vocals hard to hear, and when they are at their lowest they are impossible to understand. But, that also attributes to the gritty power of grindcore.
On the other hand, 'The Bridge' does feature a few confusing elements. After the great instrumental "The First Words Of The Dead," the album suddenly drops off with six tracks of increasing silence, in differently incresing roman numeral titles. There's no specific order, no real pattern, no real connection. It just feels like a big random waste of space for the music when they could have just ignored all that and included the last track, "Doomsday Carillion." "Doomsday..." brings forth the best of the death metal bits of Grimness 69 by forsaking all the grindcore elements and instead just injecting pure, slow, churning death metal. It's almost doom metal in a way with how the guitars will ring a few chords and then go quiet as the drums clink away, all while the vocals echo out their growls, which makes them sound more effective with no instruments to get in their way. The music picks up eventually but still, the chugging, plodding formation is still there, and for those who might be hearing Grimness 69 for the first time may get confused on why all of a sudden they've slowed down so much.
Overall the music here is great- a good mix of death and grindcore, but it's the bits of silence that are impossible to comprehend. They just seem to get in the way of the progression of the album, and even though they can be skipped. Perhaps if they had a point it might be easier to accept them, but most likely fans will shake their head at the silliness of it all and just move on to the better music throughout the album. Death metal should be unimpended to allow the maximum effect of its ferocity and glory.
On the other hand, 'The Bridge' does feature a few confusing elements. After the great instrumental "The First Words Of The Dead," the album suddenly drops off with six tracks of increasing silence, in differently incresing roman numeral titles. There's no specific order, no real pattern, no real connection. It just feels like a big random waste of space for the music when they could have just ignored all that and included the last track, "Doomsday Carillion." "Doomsday..." brings forth the best of the death metal bits of Grimness 69 by forsaking all the grindcore elements and instead just injecting pure, slow, churning death metal. It's almost doom metal in a way with how the guitars will ring a few chords and then go quiet as the drums clink away, all while the vocals echo out their growls, which makes them sound more effective with no instruments to get in their way. The music picks up eventually but still, the chugging, plodding formation is still there, and for those who might be hearing Grimness 69 for the first time may get confused on why all of a sudden they've slowed down so much.
Overall the music here is great- a good mix of death and grindcore, but it's the bits of silence that are impossible to comprehend. They just seem to get in the way of the progression of the album, and even though they can be skipped. Perhaps if they had a point it might be easier to accept them, but most likely fans will shake their head at the silliness of it all and just move on to the better music throughout the album. Death metal should be unimpended to allow the maximum effect of its ferocity and glory.
- White Room
- Down To The Bones
- Chariot Of Acrimony
- The Shining Key
- Illheaven Hells
- The First Words Of A Dead
- Adore The Ten Fathers
- Feeding
- V
- VII
- XI
- XIII
- XVII
- XIX
- XXIII
- XXIX
- Doomsday Carillion
Self released
Reviewer: Colin McNamara
Jul 2, 2011
Jul 2, 2011
Next review:
Crustacean - Greed, Tyranny & Sodomy
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