A lot of people, okay, maybe only three really anal retentive goofs from the Relapse board, will ask; "Can you really write an objective review of a band who’s website you’ve created and maintain?" My answer to that is: Pyrexia are gay! Now that we’ve covered that, let’s move on. By Means Of Upheaval is the third full length effort by the Bay area’s Benümb, and, of course, the line-up has changed since their last album. Some schmoe they had on guitar has been replaced by vocalist Pete Pontikoff’s brother, Paul, who was in an earlier incarnation of the band many moons ago, who, as you probably already know, is the bassist/vocalist for Vulgar Pigeons. Okay, now that we’ve connected the dots, it’s time to discuss the music. By Means Of Upheaval is 22 songs in 26 minutes and 54 seconds of fast, sharp, unrelenting power violence/hatecore/hardcore/grindcore/whatever you want to call it. The longest track on the album is the opening track that clocks in at a whopping two minutes and two seconds. Don’t be fooled by the lack of long playing time, these guys, like Bruce Lee, can pack a mighty punch in a very short burst. They’re actually reminiscent of early Napalm Death, not in sound, but in delivery; the lyrics are political in nature, everything is done at Mach 10, the vocals are fast, the drums are fast, the guitars are fast, the songs are all very solid and well written, and yet everything is catchy, everything makes you want to start a moshpit wherever you are when you press play, be it at your desk at work or at a funeral or on the bus ride home from a long day at work. My only real gripe with this album are the overuse of the same scream/yell vocal style song after song, I think the old vocal approach of scream/yell mixed with grunt, growl and shriek, was infinitely more effective. I also think a bit more variety in the blasts would have been beneficial as well, sometimes the same blast is employed too often and becomes a bit tedious and monotonous. Overall, the album is a solid slab of angry violent music that will make you want to give your grandma a rabbit punch to the kidneys. Personally, I don’t recommend this move, as I’m sure your grandpa, who’s probably served in several wars, would go Navy Seal on your ass and break bones in your body that you didn’t even know existed. That and granny would probably never bake you another batch of cookies again, you ungrateful cocksucker. On a final note, to drummer John Gotelli and guitarist/backing vocalist Paul Pontikoff, I would just like to say; *meow* *meow* *paw* *paw* *scratch* *scratch* *tickle* *tickle*

Review byTeufel