A lot of people use the cliché “There are two types of people…” when describing a piece of work (whether music or other) that is likely to be divisive. It’s a phrase that annoys me. Yes, there are many things that will like or loved by a group of people and roundly hated by the majority of the conscious public. But surely if there’s two types of people for every occasion the cliché is used, then there are thousands (if not millions) of types of people. And the phrase completely ignores those who are indifferent to the piece. But, before I launch into a full-scale rant, there’s an album to review.
When it comes to I’ll Eat Your Face, it’s safe to say there are two types of… oh wait. Let’s just say, after a quick browse at the song titles from their second album, ‘Hot Brains Terror’, you’ll probably know if this album is for you. If ‘Weasel Tank Slime’ or ‘Drowning Dogs in a Swamp’ don’t sound like the types of songs you would want to hear, then ‘Castle of Vomiting Owls’ is unlikely to be either.
Now, I don’t wish to perpetuate a system of judging books by their covers, but this book perhaps has a window to its contents.
‘Hot Brains Terror’ is a twenty minute (in nine rather short packages) assault on the ears. It’s heavy, it’s high paced and it’s played fast and loose. So fast and loose, in fact, that it could be thought that more effort went in to the song titles than into the music. That would be a harsh assessment however and ‘Hot Brains Terror’ is good for what it is.
And ‘what it is’ is instrumental grindcore, or ‘supergrind’ as the Cork natives call it themselves. It’s full of drum beats that sound like gunfire and guitars that seem to be coming from the depths of hell. The changes come thick and fast. ‘Drowning Dogs in a Swamp’ (the highlight of the album) for example, throws in several effective variations in sound. While it is never ‘soft’, there are a few moments that are further down the Mohs Hardness Scale and they make for a more rounded sound.
Overall, you’ll know going in if you’re going to enjoy this. If instrumental metal is your thing, then this is a fine example. If not, steer clear.