With its combination of hardcore punk bass grumbling, abrasive vocals, crust punk edge and grindcore ferocity, Slugcrust’s contributions to ‘Bind’ – a split EP release with hardcore/crust punk band Swamp – gave listeners a window into some tautly arranged, but truly uncompromising noise. Despite the most intensive riffs attacking like a cross between early Napalm Death and classic Discharge, the band clearly decided that simply wasn’t brutal enough and have cranked up their sonic attack about threefold for this absolutely punishing follow up. On ‘Discharge(d)’, most of the material takes its cues from their previous EP’s ‘Decibel Rebellion’ and increases not only the speed but also the volume on four of the five tracks. If that’s not enough, it allows its title cut to deliver a brutal, doomy assault that fans are unlikely to forget.

‘The Antitrust’ opens this brief release with one of the band’s most intense numbers. A tiny blast of feedback acts as a psudo count-in, before a barrage of pneumatic drums bursts into life with a incredible force. Within three seconds, the band have found their feet, and find themselves waist deep in a pneumatic noise worthy of Napalm Death’s Lee Dorrian years. In less than a minute, the vocal attacks against a snare driven rhythm, whilst grinding guitars are in danger of being drowned out by one of the world’s noisiest ride cymbals. Even with a few seconds set aside for a clearer bass grind an a nod to something punkier, Slugcrust show no signs of ever lightening up, and by the time you’ve wrapped your head around their sheet of noise, they stop dead, and throw themselves gleefully into ‘Default Opinion’ without pause for breath. On this EP highlight, the speed is retained, as is the grindcore vocal, but musically, things are far more impressive. The speed driven riffs of the track’s first half are derived from the purest hardcore punk, and the buzzing guitar that lays a blanket of noise beneath another pneumatic rhythm shares a superb sound. Moving away from the Discharge-meets-crust punk influences, the second half of the number explores an intensive brand of hardcore where a grinding bass pushes a brutal melody forward and a pounding drum further increases a feeling of force. Linking everything, Jesse Cole’s demonic growl is influenced by the very best crust of the early 00s, giving Slugcrust a timeless edge.

‘Feral Natural’ shares a little more variety, since the hardcore punk is, at first, driven by a bass sound that appears to latch onto a groove metal intent, and Stacey Williams shares an absolutely fantastic tone. Just in case this is in danger of veering too close to an actual melody, the rhythm quickly shifts to another hardcore and crust blend where the drums intensify and the whole band launch into a sledgehammer heavy noise, occasionally showing down for a sludgy, grinding moment or two. There’s less of a traditional grindcore aesthetic here, but that doesn’t mean its any less intense. The way guitarist Derick Caperton uses feedback to punctuate everything really adds an extra dimension of anger, and drummer Brett Terrapin shows off an impressive array of brutalist rhythms throughout. Those hoping for more full on grindcore will not be disappointed by ‘V4’, a track that sits alongside the opener in terms of rhythmic attack, and its moments of sheer pneumatics never shy away from showing this quartet at their ferocious best. Even when the pneumatics subside for a brief voyage into a slightly more melodic brand of hardcore, the listener will never be unsure of Slugcrust’s ability to pulverise, and the combination of force and groove results in the EP’s strongest track.

Finally slowing down, the extended title cut explores doom metal riffs played back in the manner of an intense hardcore punk band, exploring a very different kind of force. The weight of the riffs is impressive; so much so, that the density of the music crushes the lyric. As before, of course, the distorted vocal plays out like extra instrumentation – assuming you’ve not been given the luxury of a lyric sheet – so it doesn’t really matter. After spending a couple of minutes pummelling everyone into submission, the ’Crust revert to type and finish the number with a blast of pure grindcore, and as before, the rhythmic aspects are utterly unforgiving, but played with absolute precision. With some of the musical extremes wrapped in moments of intensive drone/feedback, melody is the last thing on Slugcrust’s collective mind, but for fans of the style, this track represents an epic treat.

In terms of a crust punk and grindcore mix, this EP from Slugcrust is utterly devastating. From its opening burst of feedback to its final doom laden chord, this gives listeners almost no time to reflect. There is no real respite from Slugcrust’s gruelling approach; no let up from their sheer assault. At the same time, their purity is truly impressive. If you liked Slugcrust before, then ‘Discharge(d)’ will floor you. If you’re discovering the band for the first time here, then the material is set to frighten you, but either way, it plays brilliantly with both top tier grind and a world of impressive hardcore shared without compromise.

May 2024