Cosmic Vortex, Konspirasi Busuk

With a name like Indonesia’s Cosmic Vortex, one could sort of expect any sort of music out of this band. Doom? Sure. Pyschodelic mayhem? No doubt. But blistering, thrashing grind? Not in a millions years. Of course, had I actually looked at the cover artwork before hitting play on the stereo, I might have been clued in. Regardless, the ten tracks (in 15 and a half minutes no less) of Cosmic Vortex’s debut full-length, Konspirasi Busuk is pretty goddamned impressive.

“Machine Gun Leg” kicks off the short album with a frantic eruption of thundering grind that may not be as gritty or as violent as Wormrots — who hail from nearby Singapore — but is just as equally infectious. Straightforward and unrelenting, each track thunders through the paces with just enough tempo shifts to keep from boring with a standard grind attack. Throw in some messy, barbaric drum work to accompany the barked vocals and driving guitars and you have yourself an album that is quick, to the point, and just fun as hell to listen to.

The title track keeps the fury rolling with some dude beating the shit out of his drum kit as the vocalist barks and snarls with little to no breaks until the final crash. The song has plenty of groove flowing through it’s violent presentation. Fast and wreckless would be a good way to describe this album as “Face Him Face the Demon” and “The Last Hail” do their best to plunder your skull with aggressive guitars and rabid drums. Man, this album is contagious. Rarely breaking the two minute mark, each track is a refreshing blast of mayhem as seen the pile-driving “War” or even the relatively slow moving “Alpha One Ten Minutes.”

Konspirasi Busuk isn’t the best album out there, but in a year that’s seen some rather lackluster grind efforts, it’s a fresh reminder that there are some hidden gems out there. If you like your grind with no frills and pretty damned fast, and you have the attention span of a spastic four year old, then this is the shit for you. Personally, I can’t get enough of the damned album.