Released: 12/2/16
Label: Relapse
Back when D.C’s Magrudergrind released their self-titled sophomore album in 2009, the grindcore scene were convinced these guys were gonna be one of the most recognised bands within the genre. It tore through eardrums with absolute “anti-sound” and relevant social commentary. But for 7 years, the band have been almost completely silent.
That was until “Sacrificial Hire” was released out of nowhere via Relapse Records. And as expected, it fucking slayed. With Kurt Balou lined up again to deal with capturing the sonic destruction that the band offer, I was officially exited. Especially hearing a few of the other songs like “Black Banner” in the run up.
But as I sat down to listen to “II”, I couldn’t help but feel like there was something missing. One of the elements that made Magrudergrind’s critically acclaimed self titled release to interesting was the sample cuts between songs. It’s not like using samples in grind is completely unheard of, but the kind of cuts used were great. Using hip hop samples on a grind album has a thumbs up from me. They added an element of humour and dynamics to the record. “II” is completely devoid of samples. It seems like a small thing to miss, but they really were a crucial element last time round. This effort is way more to the point. Just 15 tracks of unrelenting grind.
And I do mean unrelenting. There’s no space to breathe at all. It’s not like you do get much air listening to a grind album anyway, but this one’s particularly suffocating. Especially in a dynamic sense.
I’m a big fan of Kurt Balou. His production has always really impressed me. The way he captures the raw energy of a band whilst still maintaining a realistic analog feel is just right up my street. However, I’m slightly let down here. The whole album is so compressed it just gets tiresome after a while, the guitar tone is so fuzzed out it almost sounds digital and there’s just no ‘air’ at all.
It’s not like “II” is completely unenjoyable. The songs are strong and there are some really great moments, but listening to it just made me appreciate the last one more. I’m hoping that this album is just reigniting Magurdergrind’s career and they’ll come back stronger next time around.
6.5/10
Favourite tracks: Sacrificial Hire, Black Banner
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