May 25, 2011 | , | 4

Phobia / Abaddon Incarnate, split

We’ll keep this one short and sweet, just like this split 7” between grind stalwarts Phobia and a band that I’m not all that familiar with, but am loving the hell out of with this disc, Ireland’s Abaddon Incarnate. What can you expect when tossing this album onto the player? What else but some seriously crusty grind-core that is raw and bludgeoning like a rusty lead pipe to the cranium.

Phobia start things off with four new tracks of the bruising variety that we have come to expect form the band. There’s no frills here — just vocal nastiness, unrelenting drums and driving guitars. These guys know how to bring the aggression with a viciousness that has yet to let up after many years (and many releases). “Walk Alone” is a hell of a song that showcases the band at their most violent.

Abaddon Incarnate, however, is a new band to me. I’ve never heard their blackened/death version of crusty grind. Needless to say, I like it — a lot. There’s a touch of Napalm Death in the buzzsawing guitars that I really dig, as the vocals jump from foreground to deeper in the mix, presumably from one growler to the other. This shit is burly and nasty. The second song on their side is a perfect example. It’s lo-fi, a bit messy and doesn’t let up once in the sub-two minutes it takes to make it through. You know what, fuck it, their entire side is chock full of devastating destruction.

I’ve listened to this album too many times in a row now and each time I get more and more jacked up as both bands deliver some seriously gnarly grind as only they can. Phobia bring their predictably awesome brand of bludgeoning grind while Abaddon Incarnate make their introductions (to me, at least) in the most violent way possible. Feeling the itch for some crusty grind? Get this split. Now.