A lot of times when you come across a split record, you may find that the comparative quality of each side is a little, shall we say, unbalanced. One side is usually noticeably better; be it in recording, performance, or just in how much you enjoy it overall. Finding a split where I'm genuinely satisfied with each side, equally, is a bit rare. Newest case in point, this body eviscerating split 12" between Disciples Of Christ (D.O.C.), and Triac. Brought to us by the fine German lads at RSR. I think my most recent discussion about this record sums it up pretty well; I was working at my local record shop, about to spin it, and my boss asked which side would be more "palatable for the customers". To which I replied, "would you rather get stabbed repeatedly, or burned alive?" Get the frick out, both sides of this record will tear your skin off and throw it against the wall like Pyramid Head from the Silent Hill movie, just to watch is slowly slide down leaving a trail of viscera and chunky blood. D.O.C kick starts their side off with some thick, punching noise, before sounding off like a cannon shot into nearly 8 minutes of non-stop blastfuckery. Definitely the more visceral of the two sides, in my opinion. D.O.C. got a hell of a lot better since I last heard them on their split with Mind As Prison. The recording here is loud, caked in lo-fi basement noise, and transitions seamlessly from great song to great song. The band sounds absolutely on top of their game here, all the songs are perfectly executed and orchestrated, each stop/start, every kickstarting yell, it's all a punch in the gut, and what little grooves there are are violent, and excellently groovy. The Triac side, while definitely not as brutally lo-fi, maintains complete violence and disgust in a whole new way. The songs here cut like a knife; excellent, sharp guitar tone, and a kick ass drummer blasting absolutely perfectly. Now while this is an excellent recording, don't let that make you think that this thing is sparklingly polished. There is noise and feedback smothered all over these songs. I love what they did with the bass guitar in particular, it stands out constantly, and there are creative bass lines and breaks every where. When the band is blasting at full volume, the rumbling, distorted bass is crashing down over everything, and when the band slows things down, it serves as the perfect back bone and foundation for the guitarists to play their mangled, skronky noises. This split is a perfect pairing of grindcore brutality, and will definitely make my year end list. Buy or die!
Rating: 9.5/10
~VII
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