Bandit (USA) - Warsaw (2018)

Philly's Bandit condensed a whole bunch of shifty, riff-heavy powerviolence to about four minutes on their 2018 EP titled Warsaw, leaving cadaverous footprints in the shapes of top-tier grind bands such as Pig Destroyer and even Discordance Axis (see also the 2017 EP, Self Inflicted, for riffs of worship) in their wake. Most importantly, whatever they lose for the speed demons among their listeners with the occasional chugalong, they quite successfully make up for it in the elaborated riff department and tight song-structuring. Put the first track, Lomza, on repeat and see if it grows old in 24 hours. (Hint: it's 22 seconds long.)

Owing to the right sort of dissonant guitar-work, at times the band sounds like Discordance Axis gone powerviolent, which may be deemed a paradox as far as Jon Chang is concerned, but the fact that I hear DA everywhere doesn't mean that it isn't real. These culprits have come a long way from their feedback-splattered punk beginnings in mostly every respect, and now they're finally getting ready to record a full-length (notwithstanding its actual length / goes without saying in the biz). From what I hear, their attitude hasn't changed (yes!), yet I can't get rid of the feeling that they may bring even more to the table than what may be expected, given the material (may be more than a hunch, based on the band's upward progression thus far).

The hyperactive Gene Meyer - other than being the only working stand-up comedian in extreme music, as far as I know - is every bit as finely pissed off on vocals as one of his grindols (sic), J.R. Hayes, whom he also owes some of the picturesque brutality in poetic style, going from comedy gold onstage fountains of vomit to the very serious rising back up to one's feet from some of life's many quicksands toward a specific notion of positive living, AKA blastbeat ethics. On a sidenote, it's been about a decade since we were first in (email) contact thanks to this here Cephalochromoscope; I got to learn that, other than pursuing comedy, Meyer has become a reviewer for Decibel (see Blast Worship) on top of fathering a (now already long-running) Facebook page called Pledge Allegiance to Grindcore (a beautiful exhibition of countless great grindcore releases), although he regrettably abandoned a totally interesting (grindgazing) cybergrind solo project of his from way back, unsurprisingly named after a song off Prowler in the Yard, yet surprisingly different to Bandit's ferocious assault on body and mind.

Stream or spare a fiver over @ Bandcamp!