EP REVIEW: DDEEAATTHHMMEETTAALL – Escuela Grind
On a mission to make grindcore more fun and inclusive, ESCUELA GRIND have already earned themselves a fearsome live reputation and considerable acclaim for their scorching 2022 full-length Memory Theater. Along the way, they’ve also fired out a series of EPs themed on their take on the genres that influence them. The latest, in keeping with their tongue in cheek naming tradition, is exactly what it says on the tin: rip-roaring, grinding death metal with a steadfast refusal to take itself too seriously.
Right off the bat that make clear exactly who they’re inspired by; the guitars are chainsaws and Katerina Economou’s feral snarls become cavernous roars. Lead single Ball And Chain is as heavy as its name, opening with a punishing groove and squealing harmonics. It’s the kind of grimy, disgusting death metal the likes of FROZEN SOUL and UNDEATH peddle, a filth-encrusted sound where the snare reverberates around your skull like a concussion.
ESCUELA GRIND aren’t messing around; Punishment Ritual is just that, a three-and-a-half-minute bludgeoning that lurches from groove to rapid snare batterings and back with ease. Krissy Morash revels in throwing out riff after riff, the buzzsaw tone reminiscent of modern greats like GATECREEPER as well as pioneering Swedish legends ENTOMBED. Abyssal Plane has the kind of barrel-chested groove that’s impossible not to love, buoyed by Jesse Adan Fuentes’ seismic drum patterns that roil and shift at the drop of a hat.
They cap it off by bringing in one of the godfathers of grind, living legend Barney Greenway of NAPALM DEATH, for the furiously anthemic closer Meat Magnet, whose grisly video shows him and Economou trading grunts and growls. Not only is it a thrilling death metal track from a band whose constant experimentation puts them head and shoulders above their peers, it shows that ESCUELA GRIND are confident in treading a similar path.
By refusing to accept grindcore norms of brutishly short songs and throwing in flourishes of powerviolence and death metal to their main assault, they’ve shown themselves to be one of modern grind’s most exciting bands, and this series of EPs proves their penchant for delving into other styles is no one-off. If anything, the songwriting is even tighter than on the already-excellent Memory Theater, and with the band having confirmed they’ve finished recording yet another release, DDEEAATTHHMMEETTAALL should have fans very excited for the future of this brilliant band.
Rating: 8/10
DDEEAATTHHMMEETTAALL is set for release on January 12th via MNRK Heavy.
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