originally written by Erik Thomas
2010 has seen some solid grindcore from the likes of Misery Index, Defeatist, Sayyadina, Wormrot, Infanticide and others, but how about the second effort from Australia’s Beyond Terror Beyond Grace for something out of the tried and true that still delivers a tasty slab of Swedish styled (Nasum, Gadget, Rotten Sound, etc) grindcore…?
Forget the band’s affiliation (they share a vocalist with Aussie deathcore act Gallows For Grace), BTBG offers a blistering 30 tracks in 40 minutes. The majority of the songs deliver their assault in under two minutes with a midrange, D-beat buzz, seething power chords, thick grooves, blast beats and the confidence of many of their already-mentioned peers. The likes of “Husk”, “Words”, “Hang Them By Their Crowns”, “Answers” and closer “Bias” blaze by with unbridled fury, while the likes of “Coil” and “Tumour” reign things in with some nice but not fun-loving grooves. The vocals are the typical scream/growl combo, done vehemently and not overdone or grating. (The growls aren’t super deep; the screams aren’t too high.)
The album’s unusual length is fleshed out by three longer tracks: the 3-minute “Flightless” which is filled out with some rather needless programming; “Ashes” which has a melodic midsection that’s a bit out of place and which might be the only track with any deathcore ties; and the 7-plus-minute “Murakami”, an instrumental number with some delicate acoustics. But closer “Bias” washes all of that away in a feral 2-minute torrent of savagery.
Our Ashes Built Mountains will more than likely be overlooked as a 2010 grindcore release, but Deepsend looks to have discovered a killer grindcore gem that’s as good as fellow Aussies Captain Cleanoff, just not quite as classic-sounding.
