Feature: Christian Grindcore – The Essentials
Grindcore as a genre can often be a real mixed bag. Given its inherent penchant for extremity at the expense of almost everything else, grindcore music can often veer wildly in quality between brilliant to outright abysmal. The secular metal scene has its iconic records from its iconic bands, from Repulsion’s Horrified and Napalm Death’s From Enslavement to Obliteration all the way to modern classics like Insect Warfare’s World Extermination and Pig Destroyer’s Prowler in the Yard. But what about the Christian metal world? Well, if you’re new to it all, I’ve done the legwork for you and come up with my list of what I think are the essential records of the Christian grindcore scene. It’s a big job and there’s a lot of bands that didn’t make the cut, for various reasons; I would have thrown Fleshdeath on here, but I can only find ONE song by these guys (and it’s fantastic). If you’re already a seasoned fan, you’ll no doubt see some of your favourites missing, but such is the nature of these lists.
Frank’s Enemy – Neoblasphemies
Born out of hardcore punk band The Lead, Frank’s Enemy blended their grindcore with a whole host of influences, using them all like a chef would experiment with different spices and ingredients. While their self-titled debut is absolutely riveting in its almost grungey, punk approach to grind, Neoblasphemies takes it all to the next level in terms of intensity and heaviness. The experimental nature of the band’s approach remains, however – the opening track is a somber, dirge-like lament with beautiful female vocals, and the punishing death/doom of “In Answer” closes the album in a similar way to what Gatecreeper did on An Unexpected Reality. In between? Absolutely ferocious grind of the highest calibre.
Timoratus – 7 Deadly Sins
Timoratus, a husband and wife duo, are not your typical grindcore band. In fact, they’re an outfit that refuses to stick with or be defined by one genre, putting out everything from drone to parody to this little EP, 7 Deadly Sins. Somewhat following the list of sins as explicated by St. Gregory the Dialogist in the 6th Century, Timoratus use the sins as launching boards into an all-out assault on the senses. Courtney Napier’s blistering shrieks reach new heights of grindcore intensity here. Mandatory.
Rehumanize – Resident Apostasy
Rehumanize is the straight-up grindcore project of Felipe Diez, the man also behind Sorrowstorm, Encryptor, and Northern Ash, and Resident Apostasy is a crucial album in the Christian grindcore canon, at least in my view. Spread across 27 tracks of shredding grind in the vein of Brutal Truth and early Napalm Death, the lyrics take aim at calling out televangelists, prosperity gospel promoters, and megachurch corruption, but they also deal with far more personal topics such as the struggle with deep depression and crippling anxiety. Excellent from start to finish.
Flesh Incineration – Nescient Atrophy
I first heard this project on The Slaughtered Lamb Split, and it instantly stood out on a record composed of the good, the bad and the ugly. Flesh Incineration are definitely a death/grind act, heavier than most grind, but still chaotic and ramshackle in the classic fashion of most acts in this genre. Nescient Atrophy isn’t an easy listen, with its lyrical focus on exposing hypocrisy and corruption in the Christian world at large, but it can be a convicting one loaded with much food for thought.
Check it out HERE.
Afflicted Truth – The Seeking of Redemption
Afflicted Truth has to be South Africa’s most riveting metal export. Essentially a solo project of main man Hilton Lazenby, Afflicted Truth specializes in a kind of death/grind that is the musical equivalent of an autocannon put to music. Relentless like Broken Flesh but possessed of the grindcore emphasis on speed and chaos at all costs, Lazenby’s guitar work dogfights its way through the pounding blastbeats and roars like a swallow flying over a WW1 battlefield. Truly insane stuff, The Seeking of Redemption is his best work yet. For those seeking a heavier form of grind that’s not afraid of being flashy, look no further.
Empty Grave – Who Will Save Us Now?
Composed of two dudes from Germany, Empty Grave’s take on death/grind doesn’t skimp on either genres, deftly walking the tightrope between the two and keeping the balance, while still keeping the grind heart beating and intact. Brutal, chaotic and ultra-intense stuff that fans of Insect Warfare, Flesh Incineration and Terrorizer will no doubt dig.
Vomitorial Corpulence – Skin Stripper
There are, surprisingly, a lot of Christian goregrind bands out there – Flactorophia, Deophobic Necrosis, Eternal Mystery, and No Return to My Vomit, to name a few – but one rises to the top. Taking a major cue from early Carcass, Vomitorial Corpulence of Australia are one of the most highly-regarded grind acts in the Christian scene, even breaching the divide into secular fandom as well. Some even note that they were the first Christian band to play the style. Though Karrionic Hacktician was wild in its own right, their second full-length album, Skin Stripper, remains the classic of their brief career (which allegedly ended when they were sadly being pushed by their current label to not have Christian lyrics; they simply walked away!). Musically, it’s about as crazy as it gets with this kind of stuff – vocals veering from ultra-low gutturals to super high-pitched shrieks and everything in between. Shocked by the artwork? It’s not there to simply be violent or gruesome. It depicts the martyrdom of the holy apostle, St. Bartholomew, who was flayed alive for his faith in Christ. As an album, it’s incredibly difficult to find, even online, though a few copies do float around on Discogs from time to time.
Pulpit Vomit – Hospital Lens
It might be a bit too soon to throw this one on the list, but the positive reactions to this one are so numerous that I had to check it out. Glad I did, too. It’s one of the strongest Christian grind releases in recent memory. Composed of only eight tracks (a blink of an eye in length when it comes to grindcore!), Pulpit Vomit wreak absolute havoc over the short running time, leaving only wreckage behind. Fans of Pig Destroyer, Long Suffering, and Wormrot, meet your next favourite band.
4-Way Noise Explosion
Still the only grind compilation you need, in my view. Christian Underground Records’ 4-Way Grind Split was great but I can’t help but feel that not everything on there is grindcore proper; The Slaughtered Lamb Split spans the gamut of grind styles, but the quality of the material on there varies wildly; Six-Way Sin Decomposition is ridiculously extreme, and only those who like the most grotesque noise possible will probably be down to listen to this. But Sewersound Records’ 4-Way Noise Explosion stands out above all the rest in its variety, quality and overall consistency. Featuring the ineffable Rehumanize, long-running goregrind act Eternal Mystery, ferocious and absolutely searing Long Suffering (whose material is incredibly tough to find on its own), and arguably the most extreme band on the planet, Corpse Under Construction, there’s something for everyone on here. IF you can find a copy, snatch it up. For most of us, though, we’ll have to be content with Youtube uploads of it.
Antidemon – Demonicide
But isn’t Antidemon a death metal band? Yes. But they have always emphasized the grind element in their sound as well. Though they toned down the grind elements by and large with Ring of Fire onwards, their debut album Demonicide is a death/grind classic. Replete with several one or two second tracks in the vein of Napalm Death’s “You Suffer” and “Dead,” Demonicide often delves full-on into grind that ends up sounding like a six-car pile-up. If you want to hear Antidemon at their most punky and grinding, here you go.
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Thank for writing this, I was hoping to see some Christian grindcore coverage at some point!