RUMPELSTILTSKIN GRINDER „Living For Death, Destroying The Rest ”

Music: Thrash, Death Metal, Punk
Country: USA
Web site: www.myspace.com/rumpelstiltskingrinder


Cool Songs: Nothing Defeats the Skull, Brainwasher C. 1655, Friends in the Mountain, Ghouls in the Valley

In many ways, Pennsylvanian act RUMPELSTILTSKIN GRINDER will find a niche in the demented thoughts of most who encounter this strange act. Their name alone smashes together fairytale memories and horror film repulsion. It is a humor-provoking name—a sick humor that is not confined to titles alone. The group’s Relapse debut “Buried in the Front Yard” contained black humor scenarios such as the government cashing in on the alien sighting phenomenon (‘Stealing E.T.’) and too many bodies, not enough room in the yard: [‘Grab A Shovel (We Have Got Bodies To Bury’]. Their sophomore effort “Living For Death, Destroying The Rest” contains much of the same black humor, but with even weirder twists.

“Living For Death, Destroying The Rest” mixes heavy metal sentiments of “kill the posers” with ideas straight from science fiction and fantasy resulting in lyrics such as “Our daggers will cut you, Unless you bang your fucking head” (‘Nothing Defeats the Skull’). While the Grinder draws from many sources for lyrical inspiration, the group takes a similar stance in creating music.

Extreme visuals call for an extreme soundtrack, which is related through various in-your-face metallic styles, proving difficult to categorize with a single tag. Often the group speeds along with muffled death metal riffing, and then transitions to traditional heavy metal sounds, thrash, black metal, rocking grooves or even heads into hardcore and punk directions.

One of the issues with bands that often change direction—whether it is shifts in style or a sharp change in timing—is they often fail to hook the listener. None of the ten tracks on “Living For Death, Destroying the Rest” run into this problem. Every track contains at least a couple of memorable parts, and brings a hang banging energy hard to overlook.

Some of the tracks with stick-to-your-brain qualities include ‘Brainwasher C. 1655,’ which moves between early speed metal, black metal, chugging breaks and hard rock licks. “Friends in the Mountain, Ghouls in the Valley” smoothly merges NWOBHM and hardcore punk. The group returns to the punk rock foundation on “Beware the Thrash Brigade,” while “Sewers of Doom” taps into vintage death metal riffing and wild solos.

On “Living For Death, Destroying the Rest,” RUMPELSTILTSKIN GRINDER has retained the black sentiment and balls out metal sound from previous efforts, but has showcased it all with better production, a greater diversification of style and catchier rhythms. New vocalist Shawn Riley superbly filled the position vacated by past vocalist, Mike Hrubovcak, keeping some of Hrubovcak’s Chuck Schuldiner traits, but adding more emphasis on hardcore vocals and Tom G. Warrior rhythms.

With the multitude of heavy styles that exist today, it is a shame more bands don’t set a more encompassing scope than replaying the same music first created twenty, thirty and even forty years ago. “Living for Death, Destroying the Rest” is the result of true metal heads, get it if you are bored of the same ole’ shit!

note: 9/10

Tracklist

1. Nothing Defeats the Skull
2. Graveyard Vandalization
3. Brainwasher C. 1655
4. Friends in the Mountain, Ghouls in the Valley
5. Spyborg
6. Traitor's Blood
7. Beware the Thrash Brigade
8. Sewers Of Doom (Dethroning The Tyrant Pt.1)
9. Darkness Never Ending (Dethroning The Tyrant Pt.2)
10. Revolution Of Underground Legions (Dethroning The Tyrant Pt.3)
Total playing time 43:39

Line-up

Shawn Riley – Vocals, Bass
Ryan Moll – Guitar
Matt Moore – Guitar, Vocals
Patrick Battaglia – Drums