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Happy New-ish Year! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! My grandma actually surprised me with the latest expanded edition of Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore by our fearless editor-in-chief Albert Mudrian. It more than made up for the fact that the Jets blew another winnable game to the Rams and probably definitely got their asses kicked by the Bills by the time this article publishes!
Anywho, it was a great year for all things fast, and this is our unofficially official list of the best grind/powerviolence albums that came out in 2024. If you disagree with the list, feel free to complain about it on Twitter before returning to your Trader Joe’s shift. Enjoy!
10. Shock Withdrawal, The Dismal Advance, Brutal Panda
Wow, what a SHOCKING (pun intended) smorgasbord of science-fiction influenced death metal and good old fashioned grindcore. The Dismal Advance is more than just an extension of lead singer’s Mitchell’s old group, Maruta, though the two do share much DNA, but an ungodly concoction of its very own. It’s like Origin and Discordance Axis got in a back alley zipper fight and invited the whole neighborhood to watch. To quote Phil Leotardo: “Now there’s an image,”
9. Morgue Breath, Plaga Sin Rostro, Blast Addict
The latest entry on the list but a goodie nonetheless, Plaga Sin Rostro takes absolutely no prisoners. From the face-melting opening track to the haunting crescendo of “Ulceramante Gurgitando la Uncion Repugnante,” Morgue Breath make their presence known with endlessly filthy guitarwork and a whirling dervish of blasts, two-steps and d-beats that simply punish the listener. For any fan of the old school death metal/grindcore hybrid, look no further.
8. Weapon World, Weapon World EP, self-released
There’s a reason this is the only EP to appear on this list and that’s simply because this was the most wildly unhinged powerviolence record I heard all year. Combining only the most insane elements of bands like Plutocracy and Tumor Feast, Weapon World sound like a band consistently on the verge of collapsing into an utterly feral state, all within a cascade of samples that bend the line between ironic, unsettling and hilarious.
7 Kidnapped, Disgust, self-released
Much like this record’s cover the music contained within is shocking, raw and brutal. I have not subjected myself to powerviolence this abstruse and aggressive since the heyday of face-melting bands like Chainsaw to the Face and Mellow Harsher. There are plenty of nice little skronky grooves for the modern hardcore crowd but that’s not the headline here, it’s the absolutely rabid and deranged blasting that will leave your ears ringing for a long time.
6 Earthburner, Permanent Dawn, M-Theory Audio
Normally I’m very cautious around ‘supergroups’ in extreme metal but the Earthburner boys truly hold their own. Seamlessly blending the combined heft of Sanguisuggabog, Broken Hope and the almighty Napalm Death, Permanent Dawn draws on all of the band members backgrounds to create an atmosphere similar to Harmony Corruption and other classic fare that was created during the pinnacle of death/grind’s first dalliance with commercial success back in the early ’90s. This album is littered with brutal hooks that go down like a putrid candy.
5. Horsebastard, Horsebastard, self-released
Easily the most batshit insane release of the year, Horsebastard reaches musical territory only achieved by their most berserk counterparts in Sulfuric Cautery. The album is one long endlessly collapsing spasm of razor grind filtered through the lunatic European style grind/violence. The album is equal parts cartoonish, blistering and endlessly askew, hitting the listener in rapid salvos from any and every possible angle.
4. ACxDC, G.O.A.T., Prosthetic
The unofficial tough guy powerviolence album of the year. Fast music has not been this utterly thuggish since, well, ACxDC’s last album. The blasts are debilitating and the mosh parts are simply an absolute bulldozer mashing the listener’s body facedown into a concrete sidewalk. ACxDC obviously came with an agenda this time, as the vitriol and anger seeps from every devastating note and shriek this album has to offer. I broke my knuckles bedroom moshing to this shit.
3. AK//47, Menari Dalam Abu Agorita, Enemy of the Goat
Shimmering, beautiful and poetic ‘Menari Dalam Abu Agorita’ is an album that frequently left me speechless throughout the miserable drudge of 2024. If you are saddened by last year’s retirement of Jon Chang’s Gridlink, bolster your spirits by listening to this masterpiece and knowing that the mantle of melodic grindcore is in good hands
2. Deterioration, Paranoia & Violence, Malokul
It’s a rarity in the grindcore world to see a band evolve or fine-tune their sound, let alone one as relentlessly brutal as Deterioration. But that is exactly what the group has done with Paranoia & Violence, the most complete and mature entry in the band’s rather vast discography. The band has refined their basement grind sound, adding slight but important touches here and there that help elevate the album past feeling like just a group of songs and instead a profound statement on American insanity.
1. Full of Hell, Coagulated Bliss, Closed Casket Activities
Speaking of maturing, our album of the year! Grindcore relentless pioneers did not disappoint in the innovation department with Coagulated Bliss both combining the best elements of their previous albums while adding brand new elements and flourishes to create an album that is both endlessly listenable, daring and unique. The band uses a brand new color palate for songs like album opener ‘Half Life of Changlings’ and ‘Transmuting Chemical Burns,’ that is both brighter and somehow even more devastating than anything they have ever done. Full of Hell could have easily rested on their laurels after everything they’ve done over the past 15 years, but true to form continue to experiment with and augment their sound in bold and exciting new directions. Here’s to 15 more!
The post Blast Worship’s Top 10 Grindcore/Powerviolence Albums of 2024 appeared first on Decibel Magazine.
