ALBUM REVIEW: Generation Coward – Phobia
Oh grindcore, what a genre you are. It is often quite shocking when you realise that there are bands like PHOBIA and NAPALM DEATH who have made a lasting legacy over creating and pioneering some of the nastiest noise ever to be accessible to the world. PHOBIA have been causing chaos for going on 30 years now, and are set to release their 13th album in Generation Coward, a strangely titled album for the times, and with it a sound that feels like it hasn’t really aged a day.
This is a deeply negative album from the off. Cynic Bastard is a crusty and oppressive opening song that sounds to be a strong mix of classic grindcore dirt and modern fidelity. The album is well played, and seething with anger aimed at supposed defenders of PC culture and the general sad state of affairs that currently plagues every news network. Because of this, the album has a sense of dragging the listener down to a level below what feels comfortable, and the wretched vocals and suffocating mix does a really good job at this.
This is grindcore by numbers a lot of the time, but when PHOBIA break their focus on breakneck speed, moments of clarity emerge from the assault. The final moments of Internet Tough Guy are a chugging good time, and serve as a great speedbump before the descent into hell continues with fervour on Excretion. The off time groove that kicks Cut Throat is another welcome oddball moment that just adds deeper layers to the album as a whole. And this is an album that can often feel like a complete blitz with nothing to hang on to.
PC Fascist Fuck Off is a really strange inclusion, given the fact that more than half of it is a Team America sample and also bastardises the powerful political message of the DEAD KENNEDYS song it so clearly wants to be. It is without a doubt the lowest point on the record. At least it’s better than Miserable Awakening, which features some truly out of places “Hey“‘s that require a double take given how far removed from the music a crowd interaction like that feels.
There remains precious little to say about Generation Coward other than it being another grindcore album from another grindcore band. PHOBIA are clearly adept at what they do, and have built a long legacy over the years, but there seems to be a lot stuck in the mud with this record. The speed, aggression, and face melting intensity is all present, but in this neck of the woods it becomes difficult to recommend a band like PHOBIA purely off the back of that when there are bands like FULL OF HELL and WORMROT currently taking the genre to new heights. For the time this album is on, grindcore fans will find a lot to enjoy, but in terms of an album that will have you coming back for more, this feels to be a one and done affair.
Rating: 5/10
Generation Coward is out now via Willowtip Records.
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