Man Will Destroy Himself-This Is A Test

I really don't know if I would even call Man Will Destroy Himself a grind band. Sure they have fast songs, some blast beats, and they even appeared on This Comp Kills Fascists, but they are really more of a thrashy punk band. I probably wouldn't have checked them out if I had seen them described as thrash though, because let's face it, pretty much every thrash band from the last 10 or 15 years has sucked(which is weird for me to say since I am only 15, but it is true.) Nevertheless, I think Man Will Destroy Himself's thrashy riffs are great. Seeing as how the members of MWDH have been in various bands since before I was born, including their bassist Abe, who was in a band my dad used to go see called Aftermath A.D.(yeah, that is pretty awesome); they don't seem to consciously add a thrash sound into the mix, it just comes naturally, which is probably why it works so well for me. There is also a strong crust influence on This Is A Test, especially in the vocals. Crust is another genre that is pretty hit or miss with me(mostly miss), but just like the thrashy elements on this album the crusty parts work well and sound great.

All eight tracks on This Is A Test stand on their own, and they each are very memorable. Part of this being that they are all over one minute and thirty seconds long. For a band like MWDH, short thirty second long songs just wouldn't work. All of these songs are able to develop and it is a relief to be able to jam on a riff for more than ten seconds every once and a while. The instrumentation is great on this album too. Like I have mentioned before there are plenty of great riffs present, and there are even some solos that are worked into the songs that sound great! Some cool bass sections are also a great addition and the drumming isn't just your standard blast fest.

Overall, I really enjoy This Is A Test and it has already been getting a good amount of listens from me and I expect it to get a lot more! Some stand-out tracks for me are "Flood"(the longest song on the album, which comes in at 3:11), "Catalyst", and "Circle the Drain." Don't let the thrash tag scare you away, MWDH deserve to be listened to now!

Listen here

Rating: 9/10

~Andrew Lipscomb