Following the departure of San Francisco-based crust/grinders Benumb and Vulgar Pigeons, members of both bands have joined forces to create Agenda Of Swine. Consisting of Benumb’s Pete Pontikoff on vocals, Benumb & Vulgar Pigeons‘ John Gotelli on drums, Vulgar Pigeons guitarist Jeff Lenormand, Alter Ego’s Jason Behan on guitars and Emad Jaghab on bass, Agenda Of Swine play a punishing brand of high paced thrashing and grinding hardcore that’s about as subtle as a baseball bat to the face.

Waves Of Human Suffering consists of 13 tracks of Benumb and Vulgar Pigeons-flavoured grindcore with Pete’s angry motor mouth vocal style where he screams so angrily and passionately you start to wonder whether his head is about to explode, John beating the shit out of his drum kit like he’s a pimp and it owes him money, Jeff and Jason shredding their guitars at a frenetic pace while Emad violently plucks at his bass like he’s trying to tear his fingers off. If you thought Benumb and Vulgar Pigeons were high paced and violent, you haven’t heard anything until you wrapped your ears around Waves Of Human Suffering. The best way to describe the album would be; imagine the guys from Vulgar Pigeons and Benumb getting together for a barbecue, taking enough speed and coke to drop a horse, handing them some instruments and shoving them alone in a padded room.

For 34 minutes and 20 seconds, Agenda Of Swine make you their bitch, pinning you down and taking turns fucking your ear drums until you’re left abused and violated. Tracks like "Lost In Apathy" and "Fragments Of Reason" are a relentless assault on the senses, but that’s not to say the entire album is non-stop grinding. "Eradication Of The Seeds Of Purity" slows things down and takes a more refined approach, with whispered vocals and softer atmosphere. The band have really found the perfect balance of non-stop aggression and melody and Pete’s vocal performance is his best to date as every word he shouts is clear and powerful.

If you’ve been itching for new Benumb or Vulgar Pigeons material, Agenda Of Swine’s Waves Of Human Suffering is the perfect fix! It’s also a must own release for all fans of high paced thrash flavoured grindcore and hardcore. To be honest, I was very surprised when I heard Relapse Records had an interest in releasing this album and I’m very glad to hear that, despite the countless shitty releases they put out nowadays they’re still able to find the true hidden gems. Waves Of Human Suffering is easily the best grindcore album of 2008 thus far, and one of the top 10 released in the past few years. Stop reading and go buy this album now!

Review byTeufel