Saturday, June 24, 2023

LYCANTHROPHY - On The Verge Of Apocalypse review


 

LYCANTHROPHY - On The Verge Of Apocalypse

Horror Pain Gore Death


For those of you in Europe or maybe Euro grindcore aficionados here in the states the name LYCANTHROPHY is probably old hat. But for those of you who are not then here ya go This band from the Czech Republic started out way back in 1998. Prior to this one here the band has released to prior full lengths. But throughout their career the band is known for releasing split releases. And they do have a shit load of em. 


I learned about LYCANTHROPHY about five years ago when I by chance got a copy of their self titled full length from 2010 which was reissued in 2018. Just for the record it's the only release I have of there's. Be that as it may I kinda liked what they had done. Musically they're old school grind leaning more to the punk/hardcore scene than metal. In fact I'll bet they think NAPALM DEATH are corporate sell-outs. Well maybe?


Their shtick is songs that are a short sharp shock to your cranium. I'm talking fast like a cheetah late for supper. I'm talking stop / start drumming and song structures, a lot of blast beats and no guitar soloing. Another claim to fame is their duel male / female vocal attack which is definitely a throwback to late 80's / early 90's political punk/HC acts. 


So about half way through listening to this their latest full length I'm wondering that there's something different going on vocally. I'll get to that in a moment but first. Musically this album is like a mile ahead of what was on their self titled full length. Dare I say the band has embraced metal and joined the ranks of their Eastern European peers? Sound-wise this is far more heavy and brutal sounding. 


As far as the vocals go yeah there's still two people sharing the mic. One person is clearly deep brutal DM and violent shouted vocals while the other is full on shrieking. So whatafuck happened to Zdisha? I'm mean sure it's been a while but it sure doesn't sound like her singing (oops I mean screaming) on here. Be that as it may On The Verge Of Apocalypse is still a fucking amazing grindcore release. 


I mean by the fourth time this was blasting through my speakers I felt like I was going through a change. I wanted to be in the audience of a show by LYCANTHROPHY. I saw myself slam dancing throughout their performance. Drinking copious amounts of beer and afterwards going out to smash the elitist political bullshit state. Then waking up in the morning with torn up clothes, covered in blood, hungover as dogshit and having a Lon Chaney Jr. moment. Hmmm, must have been a full moon last night.


https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/on-the-verge-of-apocalypse


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