I like Total Fucking Destruction. I appreciate Total Fucking Destruction’s approach to grindcore - simple, punk-influenced grind that wouldn’t sound out of place on the Hardcore Holocaust comps. Compact Disc Version 1.0 was a decent if redundant debut, considering it functioned more as a clump of demos than as an actual album. The redundancy continues with Zen and the Art of Total Fucking Destruction - it comes across as an EP with added filler. How many ways can "Bio-Satanic Terroristic Attack" be interpreted? I’ve counted five and Total Fucking Destruction have put out two albums. Hell, why not put out an entire album of just that and "Kill the Jocks and Eat Their Brains" just to have shot of those two songs once and for all? I’d personally like to hear "Bio-Satanic Terroristic Attack" as a Devo song. Seriously.

The electric part of the album has Total Fucking Destruction toughen up their sound from Compact Disc Version 1.0. The political/stream-of-consciousness lyrics are still present but the vocals on Zen and the Art of Total Fucking Destruction are of a different, more modern grindcore style from Compact Disc Version 1.0. The production is less grody than on Compact Disc Version 1.0 (although it’s not hard for a proper album to sound better than a collection of demos) and Total Fucking Destruction have more of a "metal" focus to them this go-round. Although I liked the sound of Compact Disc Version 1.0 much better than Zen and the Art of Total Fucking Destruction’s attempt at being more brutal Total Fucking Destruction are still legible as a grindcore band. I don’t want to see Total Fucking Destruction become overly complex at the expense of sounding shit. Why fuck with a formula that works? Why Brutal Truth yourself to death?

The acoustic set makes Zen and the Art of Total Fucking Destruction. Total Fucking Destruction performing songs like "Bio-Satanic Terroristic Attack" and "Kill the Jocks and Eat Their Brains" in a jazzy, somewhat schmaltzy style works. The joke isn’t allowed to run too long and the acoustic set is given the same level of musical seriousness as Total Fucking Destruction’s normal set. The piano on "Nihilism, Emptiness, Nothingness, Nonsense" is a nice touch.

The video part of the album is what one would expect from an "enhanced CD" - one handheld camera, venue with mic hanging from a roof, doofy-looking bandmembers, shitty audio, some STAR WIPES and whatever the hell PWNN00BZ is supposed to be. The video is basic but well-edited, even if watching the band is kind of boring. For people playing fast music Total Fucking Destruction hardly fucking move. The most notable thing here is Rich Hoak taking off his shirt, that’s how kinetic this shit is.

I’d still like to see Total Fucking Destruction put out a proper album, but they seem to understand the concept of value for money. Zen and the Art of Total Fucking Destruction is almost a stopgap release for a grindcore band, but Total Fucking Destruction are at least keeping their momentum going. Sooner or later they’ll run out of ways to re-release seven-year-old songs. They haven’t reached AC/DC levels of rehashing… at least not yet. Written By: The Ultimate Mark