Brainrot – “8 Minutes To Die”
This is fuckin’ great. I can’t fuckin’ believe it.
Oh, sorry. I’m just talking to myself while listening to Brainrot’s bandcamp EP.
This is fuckin’ great.
Well, I guess that could be the end of the review and maybe it should; but I will try to explain myself and the band more thoroughly.
First of all, maybe people think we have our own little clique of bands that we know personally from seeing them play and we just write about the same ones over and over.
That’s somewhat true in our live reviews but anyone can send us CD’s and if we like them we’ll review it.
This is a band I know nothing about except they’re from Haverhill, MA and that their bandcamp tags are “punk- hardcore- metallic- thrashcore.”
What I do know is they play a style that I’ve been noticing in CD’s I’ve been reviewing lately that is new, or at least, new to me. Bands that have a more metal approach than punk but snip off all the unnecessary trappings of metal (no solos, no jazzy time signatures, no long songs), and just break it down to short, brutal, hard tunes. (And no snipping off of testicles, indeed).
I think the first band that exposed me to this style was Neighborhood Shit. (I’m okay, now, I got some ointment and the rash went away). But their seems to be a lot of bands that are equally influenced by punk and metal, have hardcore or thrash in their rhythms and in a bit of surprise, have a healthy bit of doom.
The end result is always great and always different, taking elements of all the genres we cover and creating something individual and new. It’s metal sound with a hardcore approach and a punk attitude, such as it is in this case. But let’s not waste any more space let’s get to the tunes!
“Shoot The Hostage” starts with drums pumping, faint feedback from a guitar, fingernails scraping in anticipation til the song finally explodes. “Just my luck, you crazy motherfucker/ You watch me stuck up here/ To feed your sick necessity.” Now we’re into a thrashin’ hardcore- face against the windshield- screaming tirade. The rhythm keeps falling down the staircase until the reins are pulled up and a strutting, metal part brings us back to reality.”Body, stripped of skin/ Why bother fighting when I know I can’t win” This is emotion stripped bare, intensity increased to the limit, anger expressed to the core. Then a great, doom-y headbanging part enters. “Got me hanging from these rusty hooks/ Feed your anger/ Just let my brain rot.” Strong, intense, full of emotion, shifting rhythms from full out assault to slow, angry demolition- this song is all power, guts and integrity; your dream and your nightmare rolled into one.
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/05 Shoot the Hostage.mp3|titles=Shoot the Hostage]
A slow moving but powerful beat starts, “Breaking Point” with metallic chords chugging along like a pissed off brontosaurus. Then we’re propelled into a verse with tumbling rhythms and vocals that seem to be in a violent rage. “Holding this anger/ Losing my mind/ Searching for something/ I know I can’t find.” A calm bass interlude follows with only some cymbal accompaniment until the singer screams, “I’ve reached the breaking point!” Then crushing guitars come in mirroring the bass part and the song reverts to the beginning, ending in eternal intensity. Bleak, powerful and complete.
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/01 Breaking Point.mp3|titles=Breaking Point]
“Second Guessing” starts with a swirling cyclone of drums and guitar riffs threatening to come apart and sail off into space at any moment. A slower metal part punches in only to be pulled back into that whirling vortex of the song with charging rhythms and accusing vocals. Soon after there’s a breakdown with only vocals and drums, “You got me doubting myself/ Second guessing myself/ Got no control over this/ So now I’m numbing my mind.” Some terrific dissonant guitar starts to answer as the band struts toward the finish. “Now I’m turning my back on what you made of me.”
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/02 Second Guessing.mp3|titles=Second Guessing]
A moderate, thundering beat answered with some dissonant guitar starts off “lll” and it reminds me of The Pixies. But then we’re into a fast thrash part with emphatic vocals, grinding guitar and bass and pounding drums. “Appealing to the masses? Best that you can do?/ Bright light, lit faces/ Staring right on through.” There’s a bass break ending with a breaking glass guitar chord and then we’re met with the snarling venom of the vocals. The chorus is returned to and in a flash this great, intense song is through.
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/03 III.mp3|titles=III]
http://brainrotma.bandcamp.com/releases
Reasons I love Brainrot besides the obvious, namely, their name accurately describes what’s going on in my mind.
Excellent, clear production- they obviously put time and effort into it. Terrific vocals from a singer who has an almost melodic approach with tons of bile and venom dripping from each syllable. Tight, strong rhythm section, interesting guitar textures…but most importantly, songs that deliver all the punch, energy and passion you could ever expect, desire or deserve.
This band brings a bit of thrash, doom, hardcore, thrashcore, grindcore and metal and wrings out all the best juicy parts of all to create a pure, perfect sound. This is one of the best CD’s I’ve heard all year.
Maybe I should put some kind of joke in here or better yet maybe I should just keep my trap shut and we should all open our ears and listen. ‘Cause I predict that bands like Brainrot, Neighborhood Shit, Monsignor Meth, Horrible Earth, Arctic Horror are on the rise (and I couldn’t be happier).
You’ve been forewarned.
(Slimedog)
