Escuela Grind – DDEEAATTHHMMEETTAALL (EP)
Release Date: 12th January 2024
Label: Self Released
Bandcamp
Genre: Grindcore, Death Metal.
FFO: Napalm Death, Pig Destroyer, All Pigs Must Die.
Review By: Jeff Finch
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Escuela Grind live and speaking with each of the band members after the show, even getting a picture with lead vocalist Katerina; they are truly excellent musicians and even more phenomenal people, so getting to review this EP after experiencing them just feels perfect. Purveyors of some of the most intense grind on the planet, and one of the top ten busiest bands touring, Escuela Grind brings a ferocity to their albums and their live shows that seems insane to be doing so frequently. So, with the switch to almost pure death metal on this EP, the world gets to see what the group can do when they slow things down a little and drag out the pummeling (so to speak) over the course of a few minutes on each track, rather than the prototypical 1-2 minute onslaught. And let me tell you, they don’t relent even when they slow things down, because over the course of this brief fourteen minutes over four songs, it feels like going twelve rounds with Tyson Fury, walking out the other side just oozing pride.
On a release so short, it’s hard to say a lot about what’s brought to the table, so this will likely be a little shorter, but here goes: the pummeling that you expect from Escuela Grind is here in spades; Katerina is one of the most vicious vocalists on the planet, period, end of story, seemingly shredding her vocal cords every step of the way, Kris’ riffs are punishing, thick, dense, heavy as hell, tuned low for maximum effect, the drums stick out like they were recorded in an elevator shaft, constantly making their presence known and unafraid to stand out every step of the way and, admittedly, it was hard to pick the bass out at points but when it does poke through, it’s like a runaway train, rumbling everything in its path. On each of these four tracks, there is not an ounce of relenting; the speed may not be there as on their grind releases, but the heaviness is not sacrificed; this new element simply makes them that much heavier. Look no further than the closing seconds of Abyssal Plane; the pace is reminiscent of some breakdowns, but this is no breakdown, this is a barrage of some of the heaviest notes on the planet, so much so that Primitive Man would be proud. If you’ve ever heard the band Nails, it (and these other songs) is reminiscent of their 8-minute masterpiece They Come Crawling Back. Meat Magnet, our finale, features metal royalty in Barney Greenway from Napalm Death, and it does not disappoint. His vocals, as proven over the past thirty years, fit grind, death metal, and damn near anything in between, and when coupled with the buzzsaw guitars, Katerina’s acerbic delivery, and Jesse Fuentes’ percussive assault, the song, hostility in its purest musical form, crushes damn near everything in its path; your chest, your soul, but not your hope, because even if this album is unwavering in its heaviness and unapologetic in its approach, knowing that a band like Escuela Grind can create almost perfection in two separate, but related, genres is enough to maintain the belief that the future is MORE than bright in metal. Anyone that has not taken note of Escuela Grind, I have just one question: what the hell are you doing? Go grab their first two albums and come back for more on January 12th.
(5 / 5)
