It's Monday and Mondays suck, so let's grind it out with No/Más Raíz Del Mal.
What's that? Horror Pain Gore Death put out another great grind record this year? Yeah, to the surprise of no one, the guys at HPGD put out another grind-sterpiece. You'd think that a label that puts out as much as HPGD would experience some burn out, but nope. Hell, half my inbox is probably Bandcamp emails from them, but it's always bands worth checking out.
No/Más (translated: No More) is a relatively new group of grinders from Washington D.C. With their only other release being Foreign Threat from 2017, the band is rising quickly. And as they should. Their latest offering, Raíz Del Mal (translated: Root of Evil), is a thorough blast of blacken grindcore, crust and d-beat culminating in one of the most intense releases of the year.
Ten tracks in about ten-minutes is usually grind done right, as far as genre trends go. But goddamn, do No/Más do a lot with their bite-sized songs. The album opens with "Case Study." Some silence, and then a heavy as hell punchfest of blasting. It's the kind of track that amps you up feels like adrenaline is pumping out of your skull.
The two things that are constantly impressive to the ears on this record is how seemlessly No/Más blend genres, and, two, how organic they sound. There's a constant undertone of black metal hitting throughout virtually every track. "Bloodwork" in particular feels like it was lifted from early 90s black and death metal. The title track has a similar feel that sounds like it's summoning the blackest fury.
Meanwhile, the album remains unabashedly grind and d-beat driven. "La Muerte Tiene Edad", which also features Blake Harrison of Pig Destroyer, is a manic slice of just this tinged with some healthy noise. The intro gives the song some bearings and as it carries on the track just tears up ears. Along with "Dwell", it is the most intense track on the record.
It's going to take 35-seconds for you to know if you're going to like this or not. If the beginning doesn't hook you, this ain't the grinder for you. But if grind is your gig and you missed out on this, then it's time No/Más took you on a ride. Raíz Del Mal is a ten-minute grind-sterpiece that will have you coming back for more and more. Get grinding with this beast.
