There is a ton of Cz grind and death metal that is worth your attention but most of it seems to appeal mainly to die-hard grind freaks and rarely seems to gain attention from general metal fans. This release should change that.

Alienation Mental plays some of the fastest and fiercest grind available. Ball Spouter is an all-out blast fest of dizzying riffs played with amazing skill and precision. Most bands in this genre seem to sacrifice song writing ability for raw speed but Alienation Mental transcends the herd by delivering killer hooks and breakdowns throughout the mayhem. Inhale vocals of the sickest order are punctuated by pick harmonic squeals and blasts so fast that they sound like a gut-sick bionic rabbit shooting lead pellets at a snare with it’s mechanical asshole. Alienation Mental calls themselves ‘machine grind’ which almost belies the fact that although they’ve achieved super-human speed at no expense to good composition and tasteful writing while retaining a human feel. Some bands trigger mixes to the point that the flutter of a fly’s wing could result in Devourment-like blasting but this freak is not only faster than the pack – he’s a heavy hitter too as the tight ping of the snare drives the mix. Bizarre analog keyboard style tones are used as brief intros but once the grinding starts – the only mechanical thing about their sound is the inhuman speed of the drummer. I never thought I’d think nu-metal could have a positive influence on grind but the solid and rare breakdown riffs are the perfect juxtaposition to the heavy handed – over the top blasts. They use of such breakdowns is tastefully restrained so it never comes off as lame pit-riffing. Sparse and chaotic solos something like a grindier Kerry King lead should please more death metal leaning fans.

Alienation Mental share a common interest in techno and modern sounds with country mates Contrastic and Ahumado Granujo which explains the unwelcome scratching breakdown which is thankfully only a momentary lapse of grind. I don’t need these elements in the grind I prefer but I can understand the desire to push away from more formulaic grind structures. Influences from Korn to Pigsty to Lykathea Aflame can be heard clearly but none of Alienation Mental’s material seems borrowed or commercial. Like Contrastic, when you’re this good, you get to fuck around a bit and I don’t think the overall product suffers from the minor presence of these forward leaning elements. I have no interest in hearing any nu-metal but there’s no way to deny that the big studio guitar tones don’t crush and that’s the part of nu-metal that benefits these Cz grinders. Alienation Mental is meant to challenge listeners with odd counts, pummeling blasts and enough changes to disorient the listener after many repeat listens. Fans of grind, death and the most extreme music available should dig this brand of unique hyper-grind. If Cephalic Carnage stopped smoking pot and went on a crank diet the results might be something like Alienation Mental. If you like the speed and ferocity of the sickest goregrind but are looking for a break from the typical patho/sexual themes – check out the Cz grind scene at it’s fastest on Ball Spouter. A new release titled Psychopathicolorspectrum is slated for release at the end of 2004.

Review byMr. Budd