Labels: Viral Age
Review by: Alex Hannan
ENDLESS GRINNING SKULLS follow up their well received LP with this EP, “Fear, Ignorance, Control”, a four song blast recorded over a year ago, it seems. Again, you get a big fold out sleeve / poster, this time with a collage taking up one side: a nightmare vision of a looming semi derelict church with rioters pouring down it, surrounded by a sea of crossed out faces, overlooked by twin Manson-girl-like faces blotting out the sky, branded by crucifixes and staring out with a scared/ecstatic expression. It’s as though Gee Vaucher’s kid put together a bad-trip collage of religious paranoia.
The four songs rattle by pretty quickly: three faster tracks surrounding a moshy stomper. It’s simple and brutish, and they’ve been energetic and effective every time I’ve seen them. Opener “Catholic blues” has a riff that strongly recalls BOXED IN’s classic “Rocket science” from their second EP (a textbook example of how to make this kind of fast, brutal hardcore really memorable… this EP suffers just a little in comparison). “Grovel”, the third track, rides a mid paced barnstormer of a riff. I especially like the discordant, eerie breakdown in the middle of this tune, accompanied by the lyrics “And did it ever matter? / And did this ever matter?”. The galloping toms in “Bullshit defender” will undoubtedly tear it up live.
The vocalist’s snarling vocal style fits the music well, but he’s a real ranter, and his righteous lyrical stance puts me off a bit here. There’s an accusatory tone to most of this record: “Shame on you, you compromised / shame on you, you closed your eyes”: “Don’t march for me / hatred neverending / you don’t speak for me / I don’t need defending”. In “Catholic blues” he hectors from the point of view of the church: “Down on your knees / stay there as I please… I am the hurt / I am the church”. “Bullshit defender” and “Bitter flesh” both tail off into vocal rants, the latter ending “The shit… the shit… the shit… is YOU”. I feel a bit churlish to criticise a singer who’s giving it blood and guts and going for targets I also despise… but I can’t quite get behind the finger pointing stance and black and white point of view here… I preferred the more abstract / weird lyrics on the LP.
So, yeah. Live I’m sure they’ll continue to impress me – just don’t think this EP catches them at their best.