Music Reviews

“broken_hope”

Broken Hope

Grotesque Blessings

Martyr

Cutting their collective teeth on shit-ass early ’90s label Grindcore, Broken Hope have been quietly perfecting their craft, that of which being guttural, gore-drenched death-grind not unlike Cannibal Corpse (any era – they’re all the same) or early Carcass. The thing is, while the Illinois natives haven’t altered their lyrical grist any (recent titles: “Necro-Fallatio,” “Chemically Castrated”), they have upped their intellectual quotient since departing from Metal Blade a few years back, putting blast-beats on the backburner and using them more as a structural element, infusing detuned riffs with hints (read: hints ) of melody and harmony, the whole sonic belch actually becoming quite satisfying as of late.

Which brings us to Broken Hope’s latest offering, Grotesque Blessings . Though not quite the thinking-man’s death-thrash that Death and Sadus were trailblazing in the early ’90s, Broken Hope nonetheless reconfigure their death-grind as a beast now light years more advanced than originally intended. Possibly taking a cue from said two aesthetic forebears, guitarists Jeremy Wagner and Brian Griffin (also head growler) engage in dual-harmonic tug-o’-war riffing that, despite the slide rule and compass needed to map out such calculus, is much more lethal than previous (unintentionally?) brain-damaged assaults. Not surprisingly, the band’s stop-on-a-dime, head-butting time changes are still in full force here, but somewhere underneath all the blood ‘n’ bones lies a previously unearthed method to their madness, a palpitating ignition that’s simultaneously overwhelming and awe-inspiring, the rhythm section (too many session bassists to mention) finally proving it has the steroidal chops and knows where to go with them – namely, the most caustic, crusty reaches of the psyche. Quite possibly the surprise metal record of the year here.

Martyr, P.O. Box 45, Natick, MA 01760; http://www.martyrmusicgroup.com


Recently on Ink 19...

Sun Ra

Sun Ra

Music Reviews

Lights On A Satellite: Live At The Left Bank (Resonance Records). Review by Bob Pomeroy.

Zyzzyx Road

Zyzzyx Road

Screen Reviews

Don’t let the stats fool you. Zyzzyx Road may have been the lowest grossing movie in history, but is it worth checking out? Phil Bailey explores the new 4K UHD from Dark Arts Entertainment.

B.B. King

B.B. King

Music Reviews

In France: Live at the 1977 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival ( Deep Digs). Review by Bob Pomeroy.

Tomie

Tomie

Screen Reviews

The first film based on Junji Ito’s manga, Tomie, makes its US Blu-ray debut from Arrow Video.