REVIEW: Blind Equations' "DEATH AWAITS" via Prosthetic

In the past couple of years cybergrind has started to gain a following and no name is more synonymous with the genre than Blind Equation. 2021’s Life is Pain was a short and sweet demonstration of real emotional cybergrind and a testament to James McHenry’s musicianship. Since then he’s grinded out the shows, spread his reputation and now is here to deliver a sophomore record that is even better than the debut and with a label behind it this time around.

Cybergrind does have a tendency to sound like metal-inspired video game OSTs and that is very true on Death Awaits, but even at that the tones and compositions go deep. The depth of the production on the title track is incredible. “Speedrunning Life” has a synth riff that is simultaneously catchy enough that it's fun yet stressful enough that it sounds like the final stage of a boss battle. It also takes dips into chord changes while always arriving at the base working of the whole thing. “You Betrayed the Ones You Loved” paints an image of a dark, decrepit dungeon and slowly transitions into something adjacent to dance pop and makes me move in my seat. Aside from the grindcore influence, James sprinkled hyperpop throughout the entire record. “Never Getting Better” is simply a pop song and while it isn’t my favorite cut on the album I really admire it as something that this project put their all behind.


Above all I’m incredibly proud of James for touring everywhere from laundromats to house shows, getting everyone on the internet to say “cybergrind” and as a victory lap getting Prosthetic records to back his no guitars record. He’s an incredible composer and vocalist, the production on all vocals are great on the record and his project has put me on the path toward a genre I wouldn’t otherwise check out. I am in no way familiar with the features on this record which only tells me I have some homework to do.


I liked this record


Favorite tracks:

  1. death awaits
  2. speedrunning life
  3. you betrayed the ones you loved
  4. fade away
  5. choke
  6. never getting better
  7. killing me [feat. Rat Jesu]
  8. suffering in silence [feat. DEATHTRIPPA]
  9. warmth
  10. the last glimpse of me

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The BRAT review

Image
Oh my gosh, Claudia AsterTracks got a review out less than four months after the album is out! In all seriousness, I’ve been sitting on this review for a bit. It always feels weird to post long reviews about huge pop albums being an indie blog. Sometimes they’re just too long for MusicBoard though, so this one fit here. In spite of being gay, formerly terminally online and generally a fan of modern-day pop, I have actually never liked an entire Charli xcx project. I remember a very awkward conversation with an ex once after she found out I find it very hard to get to the end of even the twelve and a half minutes of Vroom Vroom. In spite of all of this I still want to stay current and know what albums are coming out, so I gave BRAT a try and I’m sort of blown away, I absolutely love this one. Something I noticed just minutes into BRAT is how the production is so bare and yet also feels so club ready . Opening track “360’ s ” beat is only about seven notes total with barely a drum...
Read more

Review: Get Off the Internet by Eliminate released via Create Music Group

Image
Sometimes you’re just here for the features. After a bit of a dry spell for me album wise, it was the debut album by dubstep artist Nathan Merrill, better known as Eliminate, which finally got me out of my seat. I’ll be honest, I came here solely because I saw Frost Children and I Set My Friends on Fire on the track list but was pleasantly surprised by the entire record. I had no perception of genre or who this artist was going into it. While I’m not usually a rave girl this is presented in a way where you don’t really have to be to appreciate what’s going on. There are a lot of nice, thought-out moments of downplay which don’t feel overblown or like they’re using cheap shots to make them memorable. It’s all just very real and expressive and most of the time it conveys this without words. The progression and sequencing is all very natural as well, pretty much all of these songs could be used as singles, but they also go hand in hand cohesively. I know I likely sound a little cynical to...
Read more

Review: analysis/paralysis by Four Year Strong released via Pure Noise

Image
Four Year Strong is a band who has always meant a lot to me growing up in New England. While I Specifically spent my adolescence in RI, Worcester was only a forty-minute ride and most of the shows I attended were out there. I'm less online now, but I have a feeling I know the consensus on this record isn't very hot. Being an over twenty-year-old easycore band in a time where scene bands are nostalgic acts can't be easy. But to be honest I quite enjoyed this one. Analysis paralysis as a record has a lot harder an edge than 2020's Brain Pain . The hardcore elements were never really missing from the Four Year Strong formula, but on this record songs like "aftermath/afterthought" are actual moshable moments, complete with a full breakdown, a lot of intensity and a guitar pedal like a buzzsaw. A part of me wonders if a band like this needs to be put on an indie music blog. I know lately we've shied away from this, but there's talks behind the scenes to ...
Read more