Meatyard/Maggots
Split CD
6.7
When I chose to review this Meatyard/Maggots split CD, it didn’t occur to me until recently that this is the third disc I’ve reviewed from No Escape this summer. Of the three, I’d have to say this particular release has been the most interesting and enjoyable out of them all.
As far as I’m aware of, this is the first recording for New Zealand’s Meatyard, and what a vile debut it is. Instead of going constantly over the top with merciless blastbeats and wall-of-sound guitars, Meatyard are more content with laying out riff after riff of slow, churning, chugging layers of fuzzy staggered grind, and saving the more aggressive blasts for key dynamic moments in the songs. The grooves they assemble are simple but nasty, like the sound of a hacksaw grinding through bones in a consistent, uniform pattern, and then suddenly breaking out a nice serrated power knife of speedy, grating tremolo to take care of whatever bloody scraps of flesh may be left. The mix is thick like the snot on the lip of a 3-year old brat who could use a whack with a meat tenderizer, the vocals belching putrid bile in the form of utterly unintelligible and inhuman sounds, although I did distinctly make out the word ‘slut’ somewhere among the six tracks they contribute here. How atypical, eh?
Holland’s Maggots are the more energetic of the two bands on this split, sounding more like a hardcore band with a grind fetish and too high of a caffeine intake, especially with the hyperactive riffs and shouted vocals. They’re also more old-school sounding between the two, tossing in bouncy distorted punk rhythms and mid-80’s grooves that briefly remind me of more caustic Agnostic Front. They pretty much just blast and bulldoze through these ten tracks with reckless abandon, not caring in the least about technical complexity or advanced songwriting, and only being concerned with causing as much aural damage in as little time as possible. Although they are the faster of the two bands here, Maggots aren’t just a tornado of speed for the sake of speed, and the grooves they inject into the double-time adrenaline rush of drums and distorted bass throb like a pus-riddled sore on your ass that makes it impossible to stay comfortable for very long in one spot.
Considering the subject matter, I can get away with being a bit classless and humorous, which is what this split CD is: classless, but humorous. Neither band has set out to advance the scene in any way, but this also isn’t anything close to hack. The contrasts of slower deathly doomgrind of Meatyard, and the more chaotic hardcore punk grit of Maggots makes for a damn good time overall, that isn’t bogged down in the sameness and overkill of most splits of this nature. I’m digging it, and it’s probably the best thing I’ve heard from No Escape Records this year. Cool stuff.
