March 24, 2016 | , | 3.25

Antigama, The Insolent

Antigama: The Insolent

It’s only been a couple of years since Antigama’s Meteor, but it feels as if it’s been so much longer. To say I’ve been missing the band’s unrelenting grind attack would be an understatement. And fans will certainly have their hands full with The Insolent, but not necessarily in the manner in which they may have grown accustomed.

Sure, the full-throttle grind that this Polish outfit has become known for is on full display right from the opening, gut-wrenching screams of “Reward or Punishment.” But, holy shit, what the hell were these guys smoking by the time they recorded “Out Beyond” and a couple of other tracks — and are they willing to share? But first let’s get to a few of other songs.

“Foul Play” leads off with a brief sound byte before erupting in frenetic screams and a rabid start/stop flurry of squealing guitars and inhuman drum work. It’s a swirling track that will leave you dizzied and confused before the static and fury of “Data Overload” bitch slap you back into reality. The drumming here is unrelenting in its continuous skull-battering assault. “Used To” continues the aural assault with more static-drenched mayhem — though the track feels a bit more open and less dense as the guys churn and burn through its quick run time. Myszkowski’s delivery feels especially unhinged during “Randomize the Algorithm” as the guitars play circles around your cerebral cortex.

The title track is a monster as it channels rabid pitbulls in order to deliver a fairly mid-paced, but no less aggressive, overall tone. Burly riffage and perfectly timed rhythm blasts keep the momentum marching forward with an assertive nature. Napalm Death make a bit of an appearance on “Sentenced to the Void” as the pace continues to mellow a bit. And after those last pair of songs, we’ve reached the spaced out and rather trippy (for a grind band) “Out Beyond.” The nearly five minute long song has sort of a retro vibe to it as the guys slowly, methodically make their way through it.

Thankfully, the group gets back to brass tacks (grind tracks?) to wrap up The Insolent with the groove-fueled “Eraser” before subsiding once again on album closer “The Land of Monotony.” The former carries a solid Napalm Death influence at times as the song chugs and lurches its way through your ear holes. The finale is a fairly slow moving song and serves to wrap up an adventurous album fairly well.