Oh jeez, way to sneak up on me, you sneaky Swedes (and Finns and Austrians). It looks like HM-2 pedal abusers, Afgrund, are back again with a brand new EP, several months after the release of their excellent full length, "The Age Of Dumb". An album that I think was dreadfully overlooked in 2012 (I'm kicking myself for not putting it on my Best of 2012 list). "Corporatocracy" features about 15 minutes of new material, capped off with 3 covers featured on previously released compilations. Continuing their unsubtle-as-fuck aesthetic against the modern corporate world, Afgrund again waste no time getting right to the meat of their assault (the thing opens with a sample of Henry Rollins spewing punk rock hatred against McDonalds). If you were at all a fan of "Age Of Dumb", you're pretty much guaranteed to get a good amount of enjoyment out of this EP. Hell, I'd bet that these were recorded in the same session as that album. Furious grindcore done in that good ol' Swede/Nasum way; excellent musicianship, and tons of excellent crunchy riffs with some great floor stomping grooves thrown in. I am glad that they made the guitar tone a little more trebly this time around though, the attack is a lot mess muddy than on "Age Of Dumb", which was one of my only complaints about that album. There's not much more to say, other than they do a totally righteous cover of Nasum's "Shadows" at the end. Rock solid EP, get into it.Rating: 8.5/10
~VII
