Stimulant (USA) - Sensory Deprivation (2020)

Among the most promising extreme music acts of the early 2010s was undoubtedly Water Torture. They played a sludgy, oppressive brand of grindviolence that immediately made waves in the underground. After releasing a number of splits, EPs and an LP, Water Torture sadly called it quits in 2015.

Rather than ending there, however, two of the three members immediately formed a new band. That band was Stimulant, a faster, noisier cousin to Water Torture's heavy blend of grindcore and powerviolence, with a similar sense of oppessive atmosphere. In 2017 they made their first release, the very good Stimulant LP, which made it clear they were much more than Water Torture lite.

Sensory Deprivation is Stimulant's second LP, and their third release altogether after 2018's split with Water Torture. It continues the growth of the previous two releases, and an increased level of confidence and artistic voice is evident throughout these 27 songs. Through a series of subtle improvements, Stimulant has gone from a promising successor to their former band to one of the leading voices in the modern medium.

Stimulant's music stands on its own, but fans craving Iron Lung-style noise after that band's demise should especially gravitate toward their brand of refined blasting. They share a similar tone of detached bleakness, as well as a love of weird chord progressions and bits of alienating noise. There's a desperation to the songs here, as well, and at least on the surface a shared thematic focus on bodies and medical conditions.

The vocals here shift from piercing screams to guttural barks, guitars feed back and chug, drums skitter and blast. "Radiation Rains Down" shudders and howls, hits a dead sprint and lands face first in a breakdown. Weird, circling riffs swirl around stop-start blasting on "Hiss Stains," and "No Funeral" is all lurching, mid-tempo intensity.

Powerviolence and grindcore sometimes have difficulty with the concept of "full length" albums because of the inherent brevity in the genres. No such difficulty is evident here. This is a complete release, clearly made by a band at the top of their game. Essential listening.

Sensory Deprivation is available digitally at pay-what-you-want pricing and physically through Nerve Altar.