Faster! Faster! I hear you cry, the unfailing chant of endless Grindcore shows which has rung out over the decades. Yet now the question is can things be any faster? I mean how fast is fast nowadays? Equally is speed linked with extremity? So many questions and now that we live in an ever-changing musical void all questions are up for a great deal of debate. On a personal note I would likely say that Power Electronics or even Death Industrial are some of the most outlandish genres of all time but to each their own, for many the highest peak is Grindcore.
It is of Grindcore we come to speak today, and keeping that notion of ‘faster’ in our heads we welcome Noisem to the table. The US Grindcore traditionalists have made quite the name for themselves. Originally under the name Necropsy the band formed in 2008, yet after a full length and in 2013 they changed their name to Noisem. In the same year they re-packaged their Necropsy debut and made it Noisem’s debut which was then to be followed by 2015’s Blossoming Decay. Now however it is 2019, can these manics play any faster? Let’s find out with Cease To Exist put out through 20 Buck Spin.
Crushing drums open the album coupled with Thrash heavy guitars and Blackened rasped vocals which when brought together make for a chaotic racket of nihilistic proportions. Speed is certainly the key, especially so as the album progresses, at it’s core Cease To Exist takes old school Grindcore ethics and employs them with a kind of Extreme Metal coating, much like a Blackened Carcass or Repulsion. Deplorable is probably the first song however to really catch the listeners ear, it brings slower elements showing the full musicality of Noisem and that they are more than simply a one trick wonder, here we also see more of a Blackened influence, dark and brooding yet coming to a climax with further Death Metal influenced Grindcore.
Putrid Decadence, Filth And Stye and Eyes Pried Open only add further Death Metal fury becoming hellishly reminiscent of early Goregrind, namely within the vocals and drums. From here on out the album descends into pretty run of the mill Grindcore, aside from perhaps the closing track Ode To Absolution which flirts with Sludge elements and offers a crushing end. Whilst this may not be one of the most thrilling Grind releases I’ve ever heard there is definitely some enjoyment to be found in Cease To Exist. The enjoyment is enhanced by the albums short length (under thirty minutes) meaning it simply doesn’t have time to become boring, rather it is a short sharp burst of madness.
To conclude I would say that Cease To Exist is certainly one to give a listen, the early Grindcore influences combined with Black, Death, Sludge and Thrash Metal make for pleasant, reminiscent musings and much contemplative thinking. The album does perhaps fail to stick in ones mind to some degree but this can be combated with the re-playability factor which this release exudes. Listen after listen you are sure to find something new and interesting and still altogether Extreme.
(7/10 George Caley)
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