DEFEATIST

More KILL THE CLIENT than AFGRUND, New York City's DEFEATIST are all about the quick kill, eschewing experimentation and expansionism and openly advocating grindcore that results in bloody noses and cracked ribs. Pretension is anathema, triggers strictly prohibited, and at 20 tracks with a total running time of 26 minutes, getting to the point is of paramount importance. The iron scrapings that fall to the floor as each riff is played should have been your first hint.

All previously released on splits, 7" records, and EPs, the songs of "Sharp Blade Sinks Deep into Dull Minds" are not the most original in the world and fall short of the power of a band like INSECT WARFARE, but sure as hell succeed for being a bullshit-less display of grindcore intensity. Most would expect as much after one look at that album artwork; it seems to go hand in hand with the musical aesthetic. Featuring former members of ANODYNE and KALIBAS, the trio looks to grindcore's nascent years for inspiration and succeeds at producing a sound that is live as hell and genuinely passionate. I love the loose, fuck-it-all feel on this one (the natural drum sound is especially endearing). The vocals aren't exactly powerful, but are not ineffective either; the delivery is an upper range maniacal one that generally fits within the musical constructs.

The songwriting isn't as one-dimensional as one might think, at least when considering the context. While you'll not find standout lyrical lines, the array of riffs is impressive and the brief compositional shifts work quite well. It's all about a vibe anyway. DEFEATIST gets its point across with the kind of caution-to-the-wind freedom and hostility toward complexity that has always defined the purest end of the spectrum. Not essential, but pretty damn solid.