The Great Mire
All Is Vanity
Torn Flesh Records
Ok, for my next review, a solid EP from an astonishingly prolific American grind band (their Bandcamp page lists over twenty releases).
This is a perfectly enjoyable grind record - the vocals are gruesome, the drums sound like some hyperactive piece of industrial machinery and the overall atmosphere is genuinely creepy. The dirt-cheap production both helps and hinders this band. On the one hand, it's punk as fuck - a proper lo-fi grind record made on a shoestring. On the other, it sometimes gets in the way of the music; the guitar parts are too low down in the mix to make a real impact and the lack of clarity means that the songs sound rather too similar. Another downside to the low-budget sound is that the band sound restrained - these songs don't leap out and grab you by the throat like Pig Destroyer, but nor do they have the same low-end aggression as Discharge or early Napalm Death. Overall, the atmosphere is more creepy than in-your-face terrifying.
Which brings me to the samples. I've never been a fan of samples in grindcore, but now and then a band come along that make them work. The Great Mire are not one of those bands. Every time they get a really good piece of good old-fashioned grind going, they interrupt it with some unnecessary video-game sounds, or a piece of soothing electronica.
Even so, this band can still kick some arse when they put their minds to it. I would definitely recommend downloading this EP (especially as it's available for free). These guys obviously have potential, and I look forward to hearing more from them in the future.
Rating: 6/10
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