Originally written by Jeremy Garner
I really can’t recall ever seeing more compilations, splits, and 7” releases in my life. Hell, their back catalogue has more songs than grind sensations Agoraphobic Nosebleed. Originally released in 2003, Desperately Insensitive is back with a new look and the addition of a live performance at the Obscene Extreme Festival. Though Dan Staige had already taken a shot at the album back when it was originally released, I figured I’d be an egotistical jackass and throw my own opinion of the album out there.
I first stumbled across Cripple Bastards a while back when a friend introduced me to the phenomenal Almost Human. To this day I still haven’t heard a better example of the crust/grind-hatecore sound. “Italy’s Purest Manifestation of Hate”, yeah, I’ll buy it. These guys hold every single admirable aspect of old school aesthetics with enough modern twists to put most of the competition to shame. I know there’s got to be at least a few of you out there in the audience who are closet punks and this release is more geared towards you than the average metal fan.
Cripple Bastards boasts a melee of genres refined into one coherent attack of violence.
Militant drumming, abrasive guitar work, and multifarious vocals sporting visceral deathgrind lows, street punk yells, hardcore barks, and grind screams coalesce into a hate filled wall of sound. Circle pit inducing old school hardcore on tracks like “The Mushroom Diarrhoea”, “Desperately Insensitive”, and “Being Ripped of in 2002” blend seamlessly into the straight up grind of “Respect or Death” and “When Immunities Fall”. Slightly slower and more melodic tracks like “Inside out” offer a short lived respite before from the rest of the material. Death metal tinged “Bomb ABC no Rio” and “Idiots Think Slower” meets the anarcho punk of “Odio a Prima Vista” with a bit of the ol’ ultra violence to become an explosion of vitriolic aggression. All in all Desperately Insensitive is a nineteen track genre bending ride of fury.
I really can’t express how pleased I am that Cripple Bastards left their analogic sound of Acqualuce Studios in favor of a thicker, cleaner, and overall tighter sound courtesy of Nadir Studios. For all practical purposes they’ve always played the same style, but they now have an almost completely different approach to their sound than what I heard on Almost Human and the majority of their earlier work. Desperately Insensitive boasts a cleaner and more focused sound than their previous work. Albeit I love the change, I don’t expect every Cripple Bastards fan out there to be as psyched about the change in sound as I am. They seem to be moving from their old DIY for lack of a better term crustier approach and moving towards a more easily digestible production that will no doubt bring them greater appeal and widen their audience.
The live tracks from the Obscene Extreme Festival are surprisingly well done. Though the vocals seemed a bit muffled and distant and the music seems more separate and individual it still offers an enjoyable gateway into the live performance of an impressive band. The band is almost as tight and powerful as their recorded material and offer an exciting and excellent live performance. Thankfully more than just a live recap of the album, Cripple Bastards cover enough material from their past albums to keep the listen an interesting experience.
Desperately Insensitive recaps a lot of previous Cripple Bastards material, covering songs spanning their career, but packs enough new material and enough of a punch to propel these guys out of the relatively cult status of their Italian hatecore-grind scene into a force to be reckoned with in the overall grind scene. Cripple Bastards accomplished everything they set out to do with frightening efficiency. If you already own the original version there’s not a whole hell of a lot of incentive to rush out to buy another copy just for the live tracks unless you just have to have everything this band throws out there. But if you haven’t gotten the CD yet there’s not really a better time to check out Desperately Insensitive.
