COAG, Sociopath

To put it brutally honest, grindcore records are a dime a dozen these days. The ultra short, ultra fast abound like flies on shit. It’s ok. It’s the nature of the genre. Every once in a while, however, an album comes along that just has that little something different to separate them from the crowd. And that’s exactly what’s going on with this solo project of Déhà called C.O.A.G.

Yes, it’s brief — 15 songs in just over 13 minutes run time — and yes it’s got the tell tale influences of Napalm Death ( and perhaps some Brutal Truth), but Sociopath also has those intangibles that cause it to stand out. Whether it be the incomprehensible growls and utterances of Déhà or the meteoric pace and rabid delivery, it doesn’t make any fucking difference. The whole of this short-lived album is enough to fully pull you in, grind you up and spit you back out, a husk of your former self. Toss in a goofy rendition of Hatebreed’s “Defeatist” — coincidentally the longest song on the album — and it’s a win all around.

The guitars are full, fat as a result of feasting upon your aural cavities like vultures on a festing carcass. The drum work, obviously programmed, is fast without being, for lack of a better word, stupid fast. The amalgamation that is ”Sociopath” is like being stuffed in a wood chipper that breaks down halfway through eviscerating your torso, sputtering and starting again several times before eventually disemboweling you in the most grotesque of fashions.

The song titles are silly, but the album goes by so quickly that naming each eruption of mayhem is pointless. It all blends together seamlessly in a whirlwind of destruction. Grind is supposed to be barbaric, raw and messy. It’s supposed to make you feel uncomfortable and uneasy. C.O.A.G. has accomplished just that with this vicious blast of grinding badassery. Check out Sociopath. You’ll thank me later.