Grot
I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream

I've had this album a long time now and it's been just as unbearable to listen to during both spring and summer as autumn and even now in winter. 'I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream' is probably one of the dumbest album titles of the year and if you ask me, it's not far from the dumbest album I heard this year too.

This 6-track EP is not even one quarter long and hence pretty fast so you don't have to endure the excessive noise that long, but anyone who is familiar with the theory of relativity knows that all such things are relative. When you wait for something good you're always waiting for too long and when you are plagued by a bad thing it will also always be too long. It doesn't matter that it's 13 minutes short and the longest track ends in 2 minutes and 45 seconds - 'I Have no Mouth and I Must Scream' is still something you'll only like if you're appealed by being stuck between two trench arsenals firing everything they have against each other, because that's the closest thing I can think of comparing this EP with.

The cymbals on the drum kit can not hold many songs from this drummer as they are beaten worse than anything I've heard before. But I must say that I'm slightly impressed by some of the bass drumming - it sounds pretty power metal the way they are: fast, tactical and clattering in the same way as the engine bangs on a world-wide Hells Angel's convension. The guitars are not as easy to be impressed by, I've probably never heard of an easier way to feel sick in my life... until I heard the vocals on this album. Putting fingers in your throat will actually induces less vomiting reflexes than what Eoin Broughal do. But at least it's not as monotonous as the guitars on this album.

To be completely honest I don't find any of these six tracks to stand ot significantly from the rest and that is always a serious problem. It's even more remarkable as one of the tracks is a cover (Unchallanged Hate, originally by Napalm Death). Maybe the problem is somewhat less disturbing on a 13-minute EP, but still - I don't like to hear the same thing for 13 minutes, whether it's my cat meowing, a dog barking, two crows fighting or this album. Annoying sounds that sound the same more than 10 seconds is always too much! And the record label is probably quite right when they say that it is a "no-bullshit" album and it's immense grinding because the grind is definitely there and the farm noises are not.

In my opinion it's feasible to say this: if you aren't a fan of relentless immense grinding then this is just as repulsive for you as it is for me. But if you like this kind of brainless grinding and think I have been wrong every time I've rejected albums like this ... well, then you can enjoy the fact that you've missed this album from March this year and enjoy these 13 minutes without bullshit.

HHHHHHH