KILL THE CLIENT

It really says something when you've reviewed several CDs from the same band and the content of the review changes only around the edges, yet you still look forward to each release because the act does its thing so freakin' well. Dallas grindcore purists KILL THE CLIENT fit that bill, destroy that bill, and then remake that bill out of skeletal remains and Gorilla Glue. This is grindcore, baby! It's all about leading, following, or getting the hell out of the way, and then hoping that the exhaust fumes don't end up killing you anyway. If you can't hear it on "Set for Extinction" (the band's first full-length release for Relapse after a fruitful run on Willowtip) then you're probably already dead.

So here's the deal. If you like "Escalation of Hostility" and "Cleptocracy", then you are going to like "Set for Extinction". It's that simple. We're talking 19 tracks and 26 minutes of blasting, bashing, metal-clanging fundamentalist grindcore that, believe it or not, still manages to keep track-blur under control by tossing in the occasional, albeit ridiculously short, compositional change. Ok, so bands like INFANTICIDE, WORMROT and even PHOBIA broaden horizons a pinch more, usually with liberal doses of crust punk, but as far as street level purity is concerned, KILL THE CLIENT works well within their own established parameters. If nothing else, vocalist Champ Morgan enforces a strict no-exit policy for his militant sermons from the beginning of "No Leaders" to the last second of "Cull the Herd". The guy is about as convincing as they come in the world of grindcore.

In the end, "Set for Extinction" is a jumble of extracted teeth, broken bones, and barbwire that doesn't try to set standards or raise bars. Much like its predecessors, it is exactly what it sounds like: violence.