“Way back in 2022” feels like about a million years ago, doesn’t it? We live in strange times, my friends, when time itself is strange…
Back then, Belgian grinders Days Of Desolation released a record called Circles, one of the first albums I covered when I spun up this li’l ol’ grind-writing series. Just so you don’t have to go back and search for Blast Rites #4 (because I’m sure you were about to do exactly that), I’ll summarize that piece here in appropriately grindcore-short form: Circles kicks ass. A hefty amount of serious ass, in fact. In the immeasurable time since then, Days Of Desolation had been relatively quiet, but some stirring happened late last year, with the appearance of a new track called “Weight Of The Weary” on their Bandcamp page, and recent social media updates state that there are plans afoot for a follow-up album to come…
Oh, also, did I mention that Revolutions In Saecula is a concept album? I’m guessing that solitary little fellow is Kasa, one of two freedom fighters around whom the plot revolves, trapped alone behind enemy lines in a struggle against “technofascists who are human in their DNA but act nothing like modern definitions of such.” (Hmmm, that sounds like someone I can think of…) According to the Ampwall page, the upcoming physical release will have more visual cues and explain the story further, so let’s just go ahead and put that on the list alongside a new Days Of Desolation as an “Andy must-purchase” for the hopefully near future.
Sonically, the clear antecedents to Type: Armor Unit are the expected ones given that “spacegrind” tag, the likes of Discordance Axis, Antigama, Gridlink. Those are grinders whose aggression is both visceral and cerebral, with riffs that twist and skronk between tempo shifts from fast to faster and beyond, and Type: Armor Unit does all of that, with dashes of post-ish drift (“Portal”) and electronic squee to add to the spaciness. But for all those futuristic trimming, Revolutions In Saecula never loses sight of its primary objective, which is to grind, and so grind it does, and well.
“Cutlass & Needle” alternates between pounding blasts and descending sweep-picking arpeggios, bree-ing pinch harmonics, and all topped with Swerts’ formidable snarl, and it slides straight into the equally cerebro-savage “Planetfall.” “As Technocracies Sprawl And Crumble” flirts with a hint of groove in its intro (and again briefly in the middle), before saying both times “nah, eff dat,” and kicking right back into overdrive, all off-kilter guitar heft and pure aggression, sliced to bits with those electro-tinged bursts. The title track appears to be a concerto for guitar, drums, and laser beams, devolving into a few seconds of noise, before the moody dissonance of “Portal.” From one track to the next, 20 times in nearly 30 minutes, Revolutions In Saecula kills and kills again, never relenting, never altering the course, never failing.
It’s early in the year (and this came even earlier, in Week 2), but I assure you that there is absolutely no way that Revolutions In Saecula won’t land a spot on my year-end list, and likely one of those preceded by a single digit. The only question remaining is which number…
Also, on a logistical side note, this was my first-ever purchase through Ampwall. So far, so good.
