Degenerhate
The End Has Just Begun
6.9
Though the musicians in Italy’s Degenerhate have been involved in the scene for years, formerly associated with the likes of Chaotic Violence, Corpsefucking Art, Desecration, and Flegias to be exact, they’re a relatively new outfit as they came together in ’02. Aside from being in the market for a name alteration – just spell it Degenerate, okay guys? – The End Has Just Begun is a promising grindcore debut for veterans who admire stalwarts such as Disrupt, Napalm Death, Terrorizer, Carcass, and others.
Unlike, say, Napalm Death – who jump on nearly every opportunity to gallop at full speed – Degenerhate switch back and forth between blistering, rapid-fire assaults and laidback, mid-paced offensives. Whereas the first of six tracks, namely “Uniforms of Brutality,” gets straight to the point with blasting, it intermittently slows before returning to dissonance, which is then enhanced with a high-pitched guitar solo. In the spirit of true grindcore, songs like “Zombified by Propaganda,” “From Cradle to Grave,” and “Day of Doom” are brief and are also littered with unintelligible growls undoubtedly thrust from the gut. Still, when Degenerhate pull on the reins even more – occasionally heard in “Our Tears” and “Failure of God” – the grind becomes covered in sludge and muck, which makes for a nice contrast. One must not overlook the opinion that this record is surprisingly well-produced for its style and presumable budget. It’s just a pity that The End Has Just Begun (an awkwardly-phrased title, by the way) wastes so much time with grating, run-of-the-mill soundclips. The intro and outro – music from a child’s toy – definitely deserve the ax.
On the whole, however, this quartet have their act together, and the fact that they shy away from sticking to one particular tempo results in a more interesting and entertaining release. While TEHJB is an MCD, I anticipate the full-length where, hopefully, they’ll offer more material, ditch the soundclips, and above all flesh out their ideas more fully.
