Antigama, Stop the Chaos
Hmmm… It would appear that I’ve been on a run of EPs as of late. When discs like this 15 minute blast of full-throttled grind-core are the norm, it’s easy to get trapped into reviewing them. Poland’s Antigama deliver a solid helping of tech-heavy grind like nobody’s business. Retaining a single member from the band’s last full-length, Stop the Chaos features the band’s former growler (Lukasz Myszkowski), a new bassist in Michal Zawadski and former Vader drummer Pawel Jaroszewicz. The culmination of the reformulated band is impressive to say the least.
Opening track “E Conspectu” last just a minute and a half, but man is it packed with some ferocious, Napalm Death inspired mayhem. The song is powerful, full (like much of the EP, the production is killer) and chock full of unrelenting riffage and ever-shifting tempos. It’s a hell of a way to get this short release off to a solid start. “The Law” flows right in from the first track and carries it’s ferocity with a determined aggression. I do love the start/stop riffs as the vocals are barked like a junkyard pitbull on the loose.
The entire EP is rampant and aggressive as hell, but there are moments where the band tempers the anger in favor of technical prowess (the guitars throughout “Intricate Trap” are a prime example). The rapidly changing rhythms of the title track show the band letting loose with some precision-fueled chaos. The riffs are angular and keep you teetering and unbalanced as distant clean vocals sit in the background adding some depth to the song. “Find the Function” is completely off the wall in terms of it’s off-kilter tempo shifts and sheer destructive presentation it’s got to be the most violent song on the disc while “The End” serves as a cool down period for having just busted your ass in every attempt to keep up with the band.
Man, when all is said and done, Stop the Chaos is a full-length album’s production in the short, timely and deadly package of an EP. Antigama wear their influences and their technical skill on the sleeves, leaving nothing behind and no questions unanswered. The music on this disc is ferocious and addictive.