Razorgrind vs. bastardized grind is what we have here.  We are in the midst of the hybrid grind battle for honorable mention.  Belgium’s Leng Tch’e are continuing down their Marasmus path without losing a step.  Canada’s Fuck the Facts continue their legacy in experimental grind on their 36th split?!  As Big John would say, “Let’s get it on…”

For those of you that have considered Leng Tch’e boring since The Process of Elimination, your minds won’t be changed.  For those of us who have come to the realization that razorgrind ain’t what it used to be, you may like this little chunk of sonic exploration.  The newest vocalist, Serge Kasongo, had some big shoes fill with the departure of Boris.  His approach is very similar and the differences between he and Boris are actually quite subtle.  The main difference is in the gutteral range… Boris wins that battle.  Nevertheless, Kasongo comes out strong from the get go.  This split also features, for the first time, their new drummer Tony Van den Eynde.  He is very solid and can play quite well, but Tony doesn’t step out and do much of anything I would consider distinctive.  The song writing on this album is very much like Marasmus.  So much so that I would say these are the remnants of that project.  That is not to say that these tracks would be the weaker ones if featured on Marasmus though.  Now how do I really feel?  Well, it’s been tough to pin down a conclusion.  When I first began listening to this album I felt like they put out the better material of the two bands but still wasn’t too floored.  Then I didn’t listen to the disc for a few months.

Recently I came across it in one of my many spindles and decided to resurrect it.  I have probably listened to this outing about 20 times in the last two weeks.  After all, it is a short one clocking in at 22 minutes.  Since these last two weeks I’ve decided that Leng Tch’e have performed well enough to keep me interested in their evolution.  I just hope they can ramp things up a bit more in the future though.  They are getting a little core-ish edge, some stoner style, and maintaining just enough death/grind to conjure up visions of the past.  Check out “Misleading Innuendos” on their myspace page to hear how this album kicks off.  This is their most intense track of the four.  The final track, “Black Holes”, builds to a slow groove from a melodic foundation.  It later becomes doomy with some mid-paced death/grind.  I still wear the Leng Tch’e hoodie with confidence, but I am slightly on gaurd.  As their final track ends with a gun’s blast I’m reminded of Rotten Sound doing the same thing.  A fitting end.

Fuck the Facts have opened my eyes slowly.  They are an interesting group.  They have quite an underground history.  I came across some online MP3s of theirs years ago and remembered being intrigued.  I never followed up until hearing this.  At first I thought the vocals were slightly weak.  Later I realized that they were done by a female and thought, damn, that’s not bad at all.  Although they are a 3-piece, these tracks feature multiple guitar tracks along with bass guitar.  I haven’t yet heard their latest release on Relapse, Disgorge Mexico, but I am assuming they record with more than three parts there as well.  After a brief investigation of their past, I noticed that they were even more adventurous in their formative years.  On this disc they have a slow intro track that is both dark and melodic.  The next track you’ll find is a minute and a half of some intense grinding.  Track three starts off the same way but deconstructs into a heavy groove near the tracks conclusion that again brings in some melodic elements before returning to a vicious onslaught of grind.  More insane grinding continues on a track called “Slave” that absolutely kills.  The final track is a slow one with guitar parts playing off each other in a big, heavy, melodic way.  I have never been a fan of melodic metal, but these dudes, and chick, make me a believer.

Fuck the Facts and Leng Tch’e both have a solid hold on the upper echelons of hybrid grind.  The question still remains, how will these label mates compare a year from now?

Review bySilky Bravado