Review: BENT SEA / TO DUST “Ascend / Descend”

BENT SEA / TO DUST “Ascend / Descend”
Give Praise records

So here we have split of two EPs of two Grind acts! The first one is pure international one – musicians come from Belgium, the second most populous city (and cultural or economic capital of country) of Israel – Tel Aviv and Birmingham in central England. So sorry, but you have to turn to some books/sites to get to know something more about these places. It’d just take too many place here if I’d begin write at least few phrases about each city. Anyway, band exists since 2011 and there was only one change in line-up – in 2012 Shane Embury replaced Devin Townsend on position of bassist. Second band comes from one place – Cleveland in Ohio. Since it’s born in 2014 there play the same three guys whole the time, by the way,

For Americans this split is the first stuff ever, for international crowd – fourth, but except two other splits (both from 2013) they released only EP entitled “Nostalgia” in 2011. Well, music which we have in this split surely isn’t nostalgic at al – at least not in this colloquial meaning of this word l! BENT SEA presents rather modern look at Grindcore. I can also hear here influences of other kinds of music, but it’s nothing strange in that if musicians (especially guitarist and drummer – Dirk Verbeuren, but also Shane Embury) play/played in bands from every Metal area which we can only imagine. Of course music can’t be recognized as anything else than Grindcore, but it’s not clean Grindcore. That’s also technical playing for sure. Riffs are broken and a little twisted, sometimes we hear something what we could call by solos. Drums beat variously, but mostly in fast tempo – as it should be in music like that. But quite often it calms a little and not for a short while, too. Sven’s (de Caluwé) vocal sounds often more like taken from modern HC. Sometimes some effects used there, too. I can notice some parts when it’s like it, in my opinion, should be in Grindcore and these parts I like the most.

We can listen to five songs of every band. First five ones I described already, so now there’s time for another five ones. As I wrote before “Descent” is a debut release of TO DUST. Guys describe their music as Death Metal/Grind, but to be honest, first of all I hear this first one here. I’m not saying that there are any Death influences here, but they’re rather subtle – from time to time some riffs and so on in moments when guys have to take it easy a little. I know that songs are long (the shortest takes 2.54), but it’s only superstition that in Grindcore songs must take less than one minute and they must be played with speed of the light or even faster. Besides Grindcore was always politically engaged music and politics is one of the main (maybe even the main) topic of lyrics here.  So riffs are massive and don’t change too often. But don’t worry!!! Thomas (Haywood) doesn’t play the entire time one and the same riff or even two ones. It’s just nothing in vein of “wait a moment, now I’ll show you my abilities”. Indeed it happens quite a lot on this field, but you must to listen to carefully. Zack (Gibson) drums very variously. That’s of course mostly speed, but there’re also slower parts (what’s about whole music, by the way). He uses cymbals almost all the time, too. And finally – vocals: in my opinion Joseph (Reed) has purebred Grind one and vocalize well. OH… Sometimes I can hear pleasant pulsing bass, too.

Both EPs which are enclosed on this split are good ones and surely worth of listening to more than ten times. I prefer Americans’ look on Grindcore, but this is only my opinion and it doesn’t mean that someone else can’t have other one. Stuff is first of all for Grinders, but not only, I guess. So the best will be if you’ll contact guys, get this release, listen to it carefully and then you’ll decide by yourselves.