Grimus, The Progress in Elimination

If The Progress in Elimination is one thing, it certainly ain’t your 1980’s era McDonald’s commercial. Nor does it have anything to do with a stumbling, bulbous purple bastard constantly in search of cheeseburgers. New Jersey’s Grimus is anything but bumbling (or purple for that matter).

The six tracks on this debut EP encompass a sound that is raw, honest, yet contains a maturity and uniqueness that separates it from the rest of the death/grind/hardcore bands out there. Amongst the combination of melodic hooks and crushing mosh is a vocal delivery that is aggressive and varied. Not only are the songs straight-to-the-face bludgeoning they’re also catchy as hell.

Disclaimer
“Disclaimer” opens up the disc with muted music for the first 13 or so seconds before some everything comes in at the correct volume. The pace starts out fairly steady and mid-tempo until the :48 mark when Grimus punch the accelerator with blasting drums and driving drums. The vocals throughout the track are pretty deep and guttural, but are varied nicely during the chorus. I’m digging the group vocals, giving the listener an opportunity to be a part of the music. There’s a great groove throughout this song that really gets the head banging along.

A Tyrant’s Nightmare
I love the drum work in this one. It pushes and pulls the pace along through thundering moshing riffs (see :53 mark) and then erupts in a flurry of blasting double bass. The vocals have some nice layered and power throughout. There’s more mosh and some slick lead work after the two minute mark.

Last Chance
“Last Chance” opens up with chugging riffs and impressive drum work that get the blood pumping like a thoroughbred race horse. This track has a much darker tone to it despite the hilarious sound clips that make an appearance here and there. The guitar work at 1:30 is a nice touch, adding an interesting dynamic and melancholy feel to the song before the group downshifts and hits hard with some serious breakdown and group vocal work. The 2:45 mark sees one of the more impressive moments of guitar work on the EP.

These Eyes
“These Eyes” sees more of a range from the lead vocals as the overall feel of the song has a more fluid feel. This is definitely a highlight track since it showcases not only the beefy attack the band is easily capable of, but also a variety of styles that showcase their talents. The breakdown at 1:30 is catchy as hell before it descends into the “bludgeon zone.”

Bait
Big guitars and a pummeling rhythm get this next song underway with beefier than hell vocals. The pace continues unabated like a run away train to the skull. There are some seriously quick blasts after the one minute mark that seem impossibly quick. Those manic eruptions are followed by a slick lead that slows things down a bit before the guys set off a hand grenade in your gaping maw.

With Every Struggle
The final track transitions smoothly from the previous with rapid fire drum work and building guitars that come to a bludgeoning mosh 25 seconds in. The solid pummeling continues with weaving guitars to just after the one minute mark where the pace is jacked up with a solid shot of crushing intensity. Again, more insanely quick drum blasts hit heavy and often in the second half of the song. This is certainly a strong way to end out a heavier than hell EP.

~ ~ ~

Favorite Tracks:
All of them

Additional Notes:
N/A