Sunday 18 November 2012

Rat Faced Bastard - Self Titled EP


I've decided to do some random reviews today, from my review pile. I feel I've fallen a bit behind recently so I'm going to address that, by covering a few releases today. My first review features the debut self titled EP from Newcastle grindcore band Rat Faced Bastard.

These guys have been making decidedly murky, disgusting waves recently, which has included getting their debut EP into the UKEM webstore and recently pressing a tape version of the EP. They've also played some wicked shows with the likes of US grind band Kill The Client and everyone's favourite Arnie tribute act Arnocorps. This EP features eight songs of filthy, death inspired grindcore.

Tracklisting -

1. Meat Head
2. Branded Supremacy
3. Defiled
4. Gary Busey's Restraining Order
5. Crushing The Weak
6. Meat Harvester
7. Blind Devotion
8. Rat Faced Bastard


The EP starts with the sledgehammer to the face that is Meat Head. A riff fest with fevered drums and brutal screams, which leads directly into Branded Supremacy. There is a great punk attitude going on, but Rat Face Bastard are also able to switch the speed of their music from fast to slow and throw in some awesome screaming leads too. I'm only two tracks in and already it has everything I need!

Defiled is a more traditional song. I say that, as it's their longest song. It features swathes of death metal instrumentation and even some killer off-kilter, mathcore style guitars parts. Those vocals remain brutal throughout, with a kind of raspy tone to them. The fact that they employ slower tempos helps to break up the breakneck speed and provides variety that should keep extreme metal happy, from any part of the genre. Gary Busey's Restraining Order is an eight second grinding mess and reminds me of that Napalm Death song from Scum!

By now, you're halfway through the EP and have already your innards shaken out of you by the low-end, crazed drums and general mayhem. Crushing The Weak features an extended intro, before Rat Faced Bastard lurch back into some groove-laden grind. I'm constantly surprised by the quality of the grind coming from our shores, but I guess bands are so affected by the state of our country that they feel the need to express their anger in such a way! Meat Harvester grabs you by the throat instantly and drags you off to the slaughter. This must be what cows feel like as they approach the killing floor!

If you listen carefully, amongst the chaos, you can hear subtle jazzy flourished amongst the guitars, but these are very brief, like at the start of Blind Devotion. Also, it's worth noting that the drumming on this track is out of this world! Rat Faced Bastard is the closing track here and brings back their punk influence, for one more rousing thrashathon.

Again, like a lot of debut releases I've had the pleasure of listening too recently, the production here is great and fits Rat Faced Bastards sound perfectly. The guitars are clear not fuzzy, especially those great leads. The low end from the bass adds great heft and the drums don't overpower everything else. The vocals are pitched at the right volume too and it all fits together with aplomb.

This EP kind of confirms what we’ve known for a long time, that the UK is climbing over the heads of our continental and US cousins and proving our scene is diverse and brilliant! Is it wrong of me to say I'd love to see these guys smash the faces of everyone in Geordie Shore!

Now as I'm nice, you can check out this EP via Rat Faced Bastard's bandcamp page below:-


You may be able to pick up copies of the CD version of the EP from the UKEM Store at http://www.ukemrecords.co.uk/store/. If you're in the US, you should be able to pick up CD copies from Tombs In The Valley Productions at http://tombsinthevalley.storenvy.com/products/rat-faced-bastard-s-t-ep.

There is a tape pressing of this EP coming out shortly. There may also be a limited re-pressing of the CD version too.
To find out more, you can contact Rat Faced Bastard directly on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Ratfacedbastard.

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