It’s Monday and Mondays suck, so let’s grind it out with Straight Hate’s Every Scum is a Straight Arrow.
And in case you missed the memo last week, “Grindcore Monday” is now “The Monday Grind.” Why? Because it’s a better name and opens the column up to more material.
In the last week, I’ve been burning through 2016 releases that I missed. It’s easy to get lost in the fray these days. Even when the year is over, you’re never really caught up no matter how much time you spent hunting down underground goodness. That being said, Chelm, Poland’s Straight Hate put out a great gem last May called Every Scum is a Straight Arrow.
The moment this kicks on a few FFOs might fire off in your head: Six-Score, Gadget, Napalm Death, and Cycles-era Rotten Sound. It’s largely a deathgrind record, and one that bears some sharp teeth. Thirty-minutes of unrelenting, pissed off blasts and heavy-as-hell rhythm. And after a short fifty-second intro, Straight Hate brings you the hate.
Every Scum is a Straight Arrow is two things: an album with old school mentality that sounds modern. The need to just grind and keep the speed is always there. And that old-school feel isn’t just channeling. Drumming maniac Wizun has been abusing his kit for years in bands like Squash Bowels, Blaze of Predition, Ulcer, and Parricide. His blasting abuse here is the most stand out thing on the album. Track after track is a whirlwind of speed. Even when things get slowed down and get on their d-beat the guy’s kit is still at the forefront.
But hey, there’s more on this record than drums. The 2015 addition of Wizun aside, Straight Hate’s lineup has remained unchanged since 2008. Guitar (Kamil Nowicki) and bass (Przemek) duties cut straight for the throat and bring the heaviness with brick after brick to the chest. The riffs are extremely d-beat. Track after track is chock full of bits of groove shoved in here and there. It keeps things from getting boring and same-y. Meanwhile, vocalist Kuba Brewczyński switches between shrill, vocal shreds, screaming, and throaty growls.
Straight Hate is about as straight forward as deathgrind comes. It’s not fancy and doesn’t intend to be, but there’s plenty to pick out and pick up on as Every Scum is a Straight Arrow barrels forth. It’s one of those 2016 deathgrind records that I missed, yeah. But if you missed it too now’s the time to get into it. It’s loud and filthy and ready to blow out your speakers.
I'm here.
