Band:	Gravesend
Album:	Gowanus Death Stomp
Style:	Black metal, Grindcore
Release date:	October 2023

01. Deranged
02. 11414
03. Even A Worm Will Turn
04. Festering In Squalor
05. Code Of Silence
06. Gowanus Death Stomp
07. Streets Of Destitution
08. Make (One's) Bones
09. Crown Of Tar
10. Thirty Caliber Pesticide
11. The Third Rail
12. Mortsafe (Resurrection Men)
13. Lupara Bianca
14. Carried By Six
15. Vermin Victory
16. Enraged

This is blackened grindcore in its most malicious and aggressive form: listen with care and tread with caution (and perhaps not on a priest's face, as the cover depicts).

As it turns out, Gravesend is a more than fitting title for this US black/grindcore trio, but why is that, I hear you ask? Well, the band just so happens to share its name with a small Kentish town just a few miles outside London in England called 'Gravesend', one that I happen to know fairly well. This is a town that conveniently resembles the music this band presents here, with the streets being grim, rough, untidy, and I guess you could say, depressing (I also have a trustworthy close friend who happens to reside there that can back me up on this). Now, there could be no connection whatsoever between the grim, soulless Kentish town and this blackened grindcore act, especially as this band is in fact from New York (which can be equally grim in parts, I'm led to believe), but I like to think that there are residents in Gravesend who can relate to this music. If not, then perhaps you can relate to this album in other ways. 

So, enough of my rambling and on with the album at hand, which is Gravesend's sophomore release, appropriately titled Gowanus Death Stomp. This release follows the band's 2021 debut Methods Of Human Disposal; with 16 tracks in total, this would seem like a staggering amount if not for this being a grindcore album, and those 16 tracks amounting to only 36 minutes. The violent cover art, album title, and outrageous track titles all obviously follow an aggressive pattern, and with this being blackened grindcore you kind of have an idea of where this is heading before you even begin listening.

Beginning with a swarm of flies, and what sounds like a strange underground subway scene, is the unusual intro "Deranged", which leads to the ferocious main opening track "11414". Here you're met by a barrage of crazy breakneck groovy riffs, insane rhythmic drumming beats, manic bass lines, and blackened punkish shrieks and shouts. This is definitely an aggressive opener, but it's only a taste of what's yet to come. There are twists and turns every step of the way, as is usually the case with a genre such as grindcore, and the ferocious energy is maxed out all the way through. The riffs are never for one second dull, and contain a constant high level of groove, and how the bassist and drummer manage to keep this high level of intensity and ferocity up is beyond me. 

There are moments that stand out, not just on this particular album, but against what you'll hear in grindcore as a whole this year. The title track "Gowanus Death Stomp" is one of those highlights, with its memorable riff melodies, frenzied drumming, and strikingly catchy verses. It's almost like listening to Autopsy on ecstacy at times, and "Streets Of Destitution" follows similarly. "Make (One's) Bones" goes into more uncontrollable punk territory; here you hear several feedbacks kick in, which give a more raw and dirty edge. "Crown Of Tar" gives the listener slight breathing space, as you're met by a lyrically creepy spoken word interlude with light synths in the background, before hell is again unleashed like an atomic bomb going off in your face. The tempo does, however, slow once again on this track, as mid-to-slow riffs take over. 

Another track that stands out for me is without a doubt "Thirty Caliber Pesticide", with its highly catchy riff and lightning shredding solo towards the end. There are several interesting genre blends worth taking note of too; for instance, you have "Carried By Six", which has a short bombastic classic OSDM sound, and is then followed by "Vermin Victory" with its more blackened approach from the use of haunting, hypnotic tremolos that gradually fade in the background as the track closes. The album's closer then acts as a synth-based denouement, once again featuring those buzzing flies to finish the album as it began.

All-in-all, Gowanus Death Stomp is one of the craziest, most aggressive, and manic releases you'll hear this year, both within the grindcore genre and out. Its non-stop ferocious tempo and outrageously violent themes will surely make an easy listening person squirm, and a faint-hearted person run to the hills. It's as fun, groovy, and wild as it is shocking, twisted, and vile, and that's exactly the way grindcore should be.