In the spring of 2010, 24-year-old Shannon Gilbert went missing in the secluded oceanfront neighborhood of Oak Beach, Long Island. A well-to-do Atlantic island expanse in the cold Northeastern coast of the United States. Evidence shows that at 4:51am she made a 911 call to emergency services in which she was frantic and screaming for her life while running hopelessly through the dark streets. Less than an hour later she would vanish. During the police's widely criticized search investigation they would inadvertently uncover the bodies of ten other sex workers buried on Oak Beach and nearby Gilgo Beach. Shannon Gilbert's body would be found the following year in the tangled reeds and marshes over a quarter of a mile away from where she was last seen. Police would go on to publicly say that they thought her death was unrelated to the now obvious body dump developing on the coast. This, despite her occupation, lack of clothing and the proximity of her skeletal remains to the others. Instead they theorized that after some kind of altercation with her client/Oak Beach resident, she ran into the night disoriented and hysterical. Only to accidently drown in the swamp after an exhaustive excursion into the wall of razor sharp reeds and thicket. Her cause of death was undetermined and contested. What later ensued was deep-rooted corruption, scandal, cover-up, social prejudices, family tragedy, more bodies and no definitive answers. A total shit show.
That breathless desperation of scrambling for your life through the mud and the mire. That panicked, crushing necessity for violent escape. That nightmarish struggle of slow motion horror. Only to be clawed back down into the bramble to meet a cruel, choked, black end. Whether murder or misfortune, it has nothing to do with music. But that taste that I hopefully put in your mouth was put there in mine by Polish "bramble-grind" outfit, Euthanasia M!ke. The drum and guitar two-piece recorded and mixed a DIY demo and released it this past summer in August on the band's modest Bandcamp page. An eight track, self-titled release that blends chaotic hardcore and screamo tinged grindcore. Euthanasia M!ke join the ranks of their contemporaries such as Cloud Rat and Closet Witch; who have been at the top of this specific fusion of grind for years. So where does Euthanasia M!ke fit in? The eater-swamp or the swamp-eaten?
Traveling from the United States' East Coast wetlands to the land of Breech Trees, Polish duo Osker and Greg, who make up Euthanasia M!ke, hail from Szczecin of west Poland. This year gives us the first release from a band that I had previously never heard of before; and upon looking noticed that there are no other releases listed on the band's Bandcamp page. Thus I know little of the band or its members. But judging from the technique on this recording, I doubt that this is the boys' first outing.
As guitarist and vocalist, Osker's playing is incessant and dizzying. A collection of grimy, shakily distorted chugs and high dissonant scribbles that bellow and snap over drummer Greg's perpetual locomotion. Greg snare rolls from blast beats to hardcore gallops and back again in machine gun-like stutters. Some how still managing to keep things spastic and interesting during the band's slower "breakdowns." He just can't possibly sit still, and I am here for it. You will find no argument in me concerning the band's musical prowess. Despite existing in a genre saturated with skilled musicians, Euthanasia M!ke nevertheless come off as distinctive in my opinion.
Although not wholly original or unique, the band does present an interesting combination of genre, delivery and structure that caught my attention. Markedly, the hardcore punk influence. I'd say the band is just as much a hardcore band as a grindcore band. You can clearly hear the influences ranging from bands like Converge all the way to acts like Modern Life Is War. Maybe not as melodic, but definitely as emotive. Osker's vocal delivery is a screechy, nearly pubescent, distortion that has an almost No Comment youthfulness to it. It carries a breathless angst that ties back to the screamo of Closet Witch and Cloud Rat. Structurally, what came to mind was, of all bands, Guyana Punch Line. Euthanasia M!ke incorporate that Guyana Punch Line/Antischism skipping-record-repetitive-looping guitar and vocal arrangement. Which would probably put their hardcore predilections in the Prank Records camp of hardcore. But I was ultimately reminded of Ultramantis Black, a hardcore/power violence band that had a flash-in-the-pan Relapse Records release that is very similar, albeit sludgier. And after probably totally negating my point of remarkability by name dropping a lot of bands, let's not lose sight of that fact that Euthanasia M!ke is also equivalently a grindcore band. Which means they are blasting over this whole comparative section, for sure.
Remembering that this is a self-released demo and over criticizing the production of such would be redundant, if not borderline dickish given how good this release actually is, I'm going to do it anyways. And granted the production here is better than any demo that any of my bands have ever put out. That said, the guitar work comes off as thin and stringy without a bass. The lack of a bottom end leaves things a bit one sided. (There are ways around this for guitar-only bands.) Likewise, the drums sound distanced in the mix, but at the same time remain very clear and accounted for. Just not as ballsy and in-your-face as they should be. It sounds good. It just could be heavier. This band could really explore their depths with a release under the likings of a Kurt Ballou at God City Studios or another engineer of his ilk. His patented slathering of static dirt could be the proper mud hole for Euthanasia M!ke to wallow in. The second half the album features longer songs that venture into distorted, atmospheric, slightly noisier boundaries. Especially in the song "[untitled]." The popularity of acts like Full Of Hell and the previously reviewed Bled To Submission have exploited these tactics to their avail. Indulging in this type of darkness might help fill out what is lacking from the whole. Although the key for Euthanasia M!ke would be the incorporation of said tactics without compromising speed or punk. Or maybe just having the mixing in more experienced hands or access to more equipment could beef up the tracks in the future. Again, all that probably goes without saying and I don't want to disparage anything these men accomplished because I do enjoy this demo and highly recommend it to grindcore fans and fans of all the aforementioned bands and genres. Euthanasia M!ke is a band worth getting tangled up in.
Postface: Quickly, I want to mention the album artwork. A dismembered anatomical quag of a piece created by Osker. This undoubtedly had major sway over my prologue and themed metaphorical stabbings. It brought to mind not only the L.I.S.K. murders, but also the toxic body pit from Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 and some kind of Man-Thing comic carnage. But I really think that it stands out over many covers, not to mention it being on a mere demo. I could easily see this as an album cover for a number of bigger, name-brand-bands over a spread of genres. It's very apt, adept and haunting. It's a pity that it most likely will not be realized as a 12 inch vinyl sleeve. Good job, man.
FFO: Ultramantis Black, Jarhead Fertilizer, Closet Witch
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