Rumpelstiltskin Grinder

Living For Death, Destroying The Rest

Written by: EW on 02/02/2009 21:31:03

Amusing for the name, Rumpelstiltskin Grinder are neither the stuff of fairy tales nor infact a grind band, but a band focussed on the current thrash revival with a heavy influence taken from the metalcore (in it's original, proper incarnation) persuasion - think DRI, Cryptic Slaughter, SOD and maybe even a little Deceased for good measure too. Unlike many of the current thrashing generation, RG are more than just thrash, including in the mixture a healthy dollop of old school death metal (see the Deceased influence) and the aforementioned hardcore/crossover/metalcore influence, in both the vocal department and speed of the punked-up riffs. It is this influence, which apart from bearing a close similarity in tracks like "Beware The Thrash Brigade" to the style of Municipal Waste, which ultimately stands RG apart from your Evile's and Gama Bomb's of this world.

On album no.2, "Living For Death, Destroying The Rest", Rumpelstiltskin mix their fare more proficiently than some of their contemporaries to ensure the albums 43 minutes are engaging throughout. Shawn Riley has the perfect voice for the band's intentions: a raw shouting style that when allied with the more hardcore moments in the likes of "Revolution Of Underground Legions (Dethroning The Tyrant Pt.3)" and "Friends In The Mountain, Ghouls In The Valley" the conviction, albeit lightly humoured, is palpable. There is also sufficient variation between the songs on offer so those with a short attention with also be pleased to get their crossover fix so concisely with RG, if however they are prepared to accept the overall difference in quality with the originators of their style. Yes we come to expect it these days but the superior sound quality of Rumpelstiltskin Grinder, Gama Bomb, Evile et al against their 80's peers only serves to rob these new records of quite the same passion and garageband nature which was so appealing in our Vio-Lence's and SOD's. A necessary furtherance you could say but the chances of more pure balls to the walls records like "Speak English Or Die" seems to be diminished by this technological occurrence.

Let's not beat around the bush, however, as I know many of you will disagree on my principles of the technological advancement of underground music (damn, that should've been my dissertation topic). For a modern-day crossover record "Living For Death, Destroying The Rest" is certifiably dosed high enough in both the metal and the hardcore fragrances to (hopefully) attract both crowds in unison being a damn fine example of some good ol' Punk-Thrash n' Roll.

7

Download: Beware The Thrash Brigade, Brainwasher C. 1655
For The Fans Of: Municipal Waste, Toxic Holocaust, SOD
Listen: Myspace
Buy: iTunes

Release date 20.01.09
Relapse Records

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