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Vise Massacre

VISE MASSACRE – EXPENDABLE HUMANS (4)

As far as palatable music goes, Brooklyn based Vise Massacre’s joyous jingles are on par with drinking bleach. An Olympic-sized swimming pool of the stuff couldn’t wash the filth out of their brand of hardcore, which is a good thing, because their gritty assertiveness is all they’ve got going for them. That and their songs are short. If new album, ‘Expendable Humans’ doesn’t convince you of that, perhaps you should start drinking household cleaners.

The lone, moaning guitar at the start of opener, ‘Paralyzer’ bears no relevance to the rest of the record, promising a spirited exploration which is shattered seconds later by a blast of unfathomable noise which ends as quickly as it started. ‘Bloodsucker’ and ‘Eyes Of Fire’ demonstrate either a worrying lack of musicianship in Vise Massacre or an admirable talent for not-giving-a-damn, because the song-writing appears to have revolved around recording their jamming sessions. The drums are particularly scrambled, a loose and frenetic attack of percussion that rarely works for songs that make a point of it. It certainly does not work here. ‘MTA’ is the only track to shed light beyond the dark hole they’re pottering in.

If you’d like to have your ears grated off, ‘Expendable Humans’ is for you. The did-it-in-a-day production does not help the junkyard sound but if after two EPs and a previous album they haven’t traded up then the grubby buggers probably like it. Hardcore lovers might find a way to like it; otherwise Vise Massacre will just have to do better.

Reviewed by Annette Simmonds
Expendable Humans is out now on Gorilla The Horse/Earsplit

You’ll like this if… you like Molotov Solution…heard through mud.