It’s Monday and Mondays suck, so let’s grind it out with Noisear’s Turbulent Resurgence.
I was actually going to cover some Noisear later down the line and go old-school this week, but then they posted a new song from the recently released Utopian Armageddon/Omega Aftermath (though I can’t find a copy of it anywhere). So now’s a great time to revisit some ear shattering, head throbbing, teeth gnashing grindcore.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGN0p_09a24[/youtube]
Turbulent Resurgence was the most recent release from Noisear, back in 2012 on Willowtip Records. And it was their most punk sounding record yet. Weird considering their early catalog has a strong cassette death metal feel to it and as the band’s career reached up to this point they’ve only verged more towards the punk sound (the approach was always there). There’s still a little OSDM sound here and there though. And the band hadn’t lost any of its heaviness.
Turbulent Resurgence is a twisting, blasting, full-on assault on the senses. Throughout twenty-three tracks only three of them clock in (barely) over a minute. Like previous releases, the band skips the bullshit and goes straight for the throat. And yet they manage to keep a technical, even futuristic-sounding approach. It's mechanical in speed and presentation; even computer-like.
Noisear eases the listener in with a brief intro, one that might fool you into thinking the album is louder than it currently sounds. Once “Pressure Blast” hits, it’s back to business. Thirty riffs, thirty seconds and then moving on. Spread this over the course of twenty-three songs and, yeah, things can start to feel a little cramped. But that’s how the band as always felt. It’s like trying to cram three people into one of those Japanese capsule hotels. It’s constantly busy, constantly shuffling, and never, ever comfortable. But it’s also never boring.
This is an album built around the blasts. Moment after moment, if the band isn’t blasting they’re usually building up to one. And they’re damn good at it. Then again, they’ve got Bryan Fajardo on drums, and if you don’t know that name you probably don’t listen to a lot of grindcore. Tracks like “Surrounded by Control”, “Less Fashion, More Thrashin” and “Educate Hatred” blast with wrath while still wrapping killer guitar melodies into the mix. It’s the kind thing that sets them apart from bands that just wanna blast and bands that know how to craft an interesting track and still blast.
What’s more, despite sounding more punk on this record, the band actually sound more mechanical than ever. Maybe it’s how sharp the recording comes off or the approach of songs like “Black Holes” or “Arm Yourselves”, but something here screams dystopian beyond the cynicism. Maybe it’s that the band also draws some comparison to Dillinger Escape Plan here. Not full on album or even song comparisons, but aspects of the erratic songs and even mixing certainly bring to mind one and the other. Albeit on a minor scale.
Regardless, Turbulent Resurgence is a vicious, brief piece of grindcore. Plenty blasting, plenty technical and plenty raw. Those that like their nonsense kept to a minimum will find everything to love here. It’s loud and unrelenting. Brutal Truth and Discordance Axis fans will know the score within a few seconds. After five-years it’s good to see Noisear resurfaced (resurgence-d?) and cranked out a long overdue full-length. Go hunt it down (I’m working on that) and play this and that at full volume.
I'm here.
