Review: "Cycles" by Rotten Sound

Artist: Rotten Sound
Title: Cycles
Release Date: 8/26/2008

Ahhh, grindcore. Is there any sweeter sound? Nothing gets the heart racing and the adrenaline pumping like an aural pummeling in the form of short bursts of organized chaos. Bands like Napalm Death, Pig Destroyer, and Agoraphobic Nosebleed have come to define the genre, while new blood like Antigama and Gadget are turning it on its ear and making it their own. However, of all of the new-school grind bands out there today, one would be hard pressed (or ignorant) not to immediately name Rotten Sound as one of the foremost acts in modern grindcore.

After a three-year hiatus (if you don't count EP's) "Cycles" is the band's follow up to 2005's superb "Exit." Anyone familiar with the band's previous work might purchase "Cycles" expecting more of the same. And to some extent they would be correct. All of the quintessential grindcore elements are present; short, to the point songs, vitriolic tirades against greed, religion, and the government delivered with dry-lung roars, thundering drums, and insane guitar riffs. However, said listener will be surprised and or shocked that the band has re-written their own rule book, and the results are quite refreshing.

While the band's other albums seem to be centered on a need to create the fastest, most violent music ever recorded, "Cycles" sees the band pulling back the throttle just a tad, and producing some more groove-oriented songs which recall Grave as much as Extreme Noise Terror. Slower, low-end buzzing on songs like "Alternews" entice us to nod our heads slowly, but the euphoria is soon disrupted by the breakneck speed of songs like "Deceit" and "Simplicity."

Overall, this is a excellent, ferocious release that stands up well to repeated listenings and shows us the kind of positive results that often come about by challenging convention and expectations.

Country: Finland
Label: Fontana Universal
URL: www.myspace.com/rottensound