Review: From the Vault Review – Various Artists – 4-Way Noise Explosion

From the Vault Review – Various Artists – 4-Way Noise Explosion

Some years ago, in 2008, a grindcore compilation was released that would end up taking on a bit of a legendary status, both in terms of its content and in terms of its scarcity when it came to getting a physical copy. It was called 4-Way Noise Explosion, and featured four of the most extreme grindcore acts in the Christian metal scene to date. Originally released on CDr by the now-defunct Sewersound Records, it was repressed in 2009, but seems to have since largely vanished, though the occasional physical copy surfaces now and then. It’s a long-lost cult classic, in other words.

Dedicated to Jose Barragan of Flactorophia, who tragically perished in a concert fire the year this compilation was first released, 4-Way Noise Explosion is in my view an essential document within Christian grindcore history. As its title indicates, four bands have joined forces on here to lay waste to your eardrums – Long Suffering, Rehumanize, Eternal Mystery and Corpse Under Construction. Each brings something different to the table.

Long Suffering, the solo project of Raymond Banda, and immediately kicks things off with an ultra-abrasive, caustic style. This is grindcore as white noise, lacerating and searing. It’s an exhausting listen, to be sure, and definitely one of the most intense grind trackless I’ve ever been privy to. Fans of Nasum, Pig Destroyer, and the recent sounds of Pulpit Vomit will love this.

Rehumanize is probably the most conventional of the bands on here. Composed of Felipe Diez of Sorrowstorm fame (along with other acts like Northern Ash and Encryptor) and Broc Toney of Eternal Mystery, Rehumanize augment their classic grindcore sound with heavier, more guttural vocal work. A punkier take on the brutal death/grind sounds of Encryptor.

Nothing I say, nothing at all, will be able to prepare you for what comes next, however – Corpse Under Construction. Composed of two brothers, David and Martin Svinth, Corpse Under Construction is the very definition of anti-music. There are no guitars, no strings at all. Just a drum machine pounding away and sounding like a nightmare version of a rave, with the Svinth brothers belching out all manner of inhuman noise – grunts, screams, roars, and squeals – over top of it all. It’s so ridiculous, so absurd, so absolutely ludicrous that I can’t help but laugh. Some people are content to simply hate it. Some love it. For me, it’s a strange bit of abstract anti-art, the last entrails of grind’s ethos and purpose reduced to the point where there’s nothing left but primal noise. Even just for the history’s sake, this is interesting stuff.

Eternal Mystery is last, and is something of a grindcore institution. Composed of sole member Broc Toney, Eternal Mystery was an incredibly active and prolific project for some time, featuring on many splits with different bands and releasing a multitude of records. Since then, Toney sadly went an opposite spiritual direction and left Christianity behind. For myself, I could never wrap my head around why Eternal Mystery was the grind institution it seemed to be; most of the releases were little more than simplistic riffing over a tinny drum machine, with gurgled vocals poorly mixed and laid over top the music in a distracting way. But the material on here is light years beyond the band’s other stuff, actually sounding much more full-fleshed. Fans of fellow Christian grind acts like Deophobic Necrosis, for instance, will enjoy this for sure. 

Of course, you might be wondering where the faith element comes in on this one, an album where understanding even a little of what’s being said is virtually impossible, even for the most seasoned listeners. The liner notes, written to voice the collective intent of the artists all featured on here states – “This disc is dedicated to Jesus Christ and everything God has done for us as people and as a growing grindcore music community.” While Long Suffering largely sticks to Biblical themes of worship and praise, Rehumanize and Eternal Mystery especially turn their sights on televangelists, heresies, hypocrisy and secularism. Corpse Under Construction? That’s anybody’s guess (though I do remember reading an interview with them somewhere on the subject, and seeing some lyrics somewhere or other), but their status as Christians in outlook is known also through the output of their main band, Magtesløs, a metalcore outfit. 

Of course, the only real issue with this classic underground gem is the fact that it’s exceedingly hard to find. Thankfully, someone uploaded the whole release on Youtube – check it out here! If you’re looking for a second opinion as well as a good look at the disc itself, check out Cole Bezotte of Coleiosis Records informative overview here. And if you’re really daring and want to see just how ludicrous Corpse Under Construction sound live, you can actually watch live footage of them here.

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Jason McLaren

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