Subvert the Dominant Paradigm

Noisear have been around since 1997, but this is only the band's second full-length, and its debut for Relapse Records. Their brand of grindcore is dissonant and arty; many songs were written on the spot in the studio, based solely on guitar riffs by Dorian Rainwater and ultra-rapid-fire drum patterns by Bryan Fajardo (who also plays in grind stalwarts Kill the Client and GridLink). The guitars are noisy, with more odd noises than standard riffs, and the vocals alternate between a high-pitched screech reminiscent of GridLink/Discordance Axis frontman Jon Chang and a barrel-chested growl not unlike that of Brutal Truth's Kevin Sharp. As is often the case with grindcore, the track titles convey a crude, nihilistic political consciousness ("Gestapolis," "Deformed by Society," "Ignorance Is Bliss," "The Perpetual Downfall of Man") and the music is fast and furious, as though the players seem compelled to bark out their message before The Man cracks down. The longest track on this disc is 1:29 ("Blackout"); the shortest a mere 0:20 ("Translucent"). Except, of course, for the album closer. "Noisearuption" is a 20-minute blast of static and noise, not unlike the works of Merzbow, Whitehouse, or Kevin Drumm.