Afgrund - "The Age Of Dumb" Review

"The Age Of Dumb". Well, I guess grindcore never won any awards for the most thought provoking album titles. This one is almost humorously straightforward, makes me wonder if there is any Thesaurus's anywhere near these fine Swede's. Whatever, punk fucking rock. Afgrund have come back after a 3 year silence with a brand new full length, which is as fierce and free of bullshit as the title they chose. Admittedly, this is the first time I've ever sat down with a full Afgrund album, mostly because I never found them very interesting. Rotten Sound/Nasum-worship grind has never really been an obsession of mine. The usual characteristics are there; super tight drumming, shout-growled vocals, and a fat guitar sound with the mid's cranked to 13. And yeah, there's nothing truly original being presented here. Some parts of this album sound like they were taken straight from "Cycles"-era Rotten Sound (see "The War On Drugs"). Please don't think I'm bad mouthing this album though, Afgrund really do know how to hold there own and make some seriously kick ass grindcore. I thoroughly enjoy this album, and I don't think there's a dud track on here. Every track is very well crafted, there's a good balance between the blazingly fast and the downright groovy, and they pull off some pretty rad stops and starts ("Planet Monsanto". Major props to these guys for talking about the devil spawn that is Monsanto too. Look it up people). Afgrund really made their songs catchy and memorable this time around. Some of the riffs these guys pull out really surprise me, and get me legitimately excited. The who album does really. It's a super solid grindcore album all the way through, and ends with one of the best face breaking grooves I've heard all year. Check it.

Rating: 8.5/10

~VII