Head Hits Concrete takes side A with some of their most discordant material to date: Rampant screaming, bashing drum blasts, barely coherent guitar rhythms blending obscured chunkiness and over the top caustic chords with insane note combinations... almost unfathomable. I mean, just listen to "Writers and Actors"! Aside from the slightly slower and more spacious break where the bass plays more of a role the entire song is just quirky, disharmonic madness! "Ordination" has a few brutally heavy moments that literally spring forth for fractions of a second, but it makes a huge impact nonetheless. Even reading along with the lyrics I can't seem to make out a word of the vocals, but the lyrics are fucking excellent: "Global extinction has finally become debatable with the help of a PR firm driven by saggy old bastards. All the while our abuse of this planet occurs at a gathering pace..." As exemplified there, the lyrics deal with serious topics that range from racist ignorance, the most extreme forms of unchecked police brutality, religious hypocrisy, etc. But, and this is very important, none of these topics are explored in the typical, straightforward manner. The lyrics are highly creative, unparalleled in intelligence, and certainly far superior to any other socio-political band who is going to tackle these types of issues. I'm dead serious on that. The recording is pretty raw, but I think it works because it sounds dirty for a reason, and you can indeed hear all of the instruments. For a 4-track recording it's perfectly well executed, and it actually sounds very good considering. After a lengthy sample introduction, Bodies Lay Broken crank out some ripping gore grind sounding material that would fit in perfectly with the Razorback Records roster: Thick, churning guitars, nasty indecipherable growls/sneers, a good mix of moderate breaks and speed, and fairly memorable songwriting that stays pretty true to the genre. The recording is thick and full of clashing textures, so it works, but I think the vocals too often overpower. Louder guitars could make some of these tracks really smash. I don't have any major problems with it, though. The 7" is pressed on marbled clear green vinyl and comes in a black and white sleeve with artwork for each band. For some reason Bodies Lay Broken doesn't include lyrics or even song titles? Go figure. I wouldn't say this is the best material I've heard from Head Hits Concrete because it's hard to latch onto any tangible threads, but I can't deny my admiration for their being one of the most fucked up and mysteriously technical grind bands out there. I'm not overly impressed with Bodies Lay Broken, but they are good at what they do, and make for an enjoyable few minutes of material. A good split, all in all.
[One Percent]
Running time - 12:00 (approximately), Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Writers and Actors, Ordination, and a few from Bodies Lay Broken as well]
One Percent Records - http://www.onepercentrecords.com
