While I love writing reviews, there are instances where I’m not sure if there is a point to it. Not because the music is bad or anything, just because some releases are so short that the time invested in writing down my thoughts, is longer than just telling you to listen to it yourself. Which is why I set myself a time limit of twelve minutes today, which is exactly how long Venlafvckscene’s new EP Poetry is.
The German trio delivers eleven songs that each hover around the one-minute-mark, so of course there can only be one genre that we’re talking about today: bingo! Grindcore!
The instrumentals are fairly “standard”, and that is in no way meant in a bad sense: it’s just a lot of fast-paced bass riffs that perfectly gel together with a barrage of blast-beats. You read that right: there is no guitar here, only fuzzy (and distorted to hell) bass!
The vocals are purely demonic and I would bet that the band has had exorcists called to their practice space on frequent occasions. All joking aside: the lyrics are barked relentlessly and deal with all kinds of societal issues and injustices, especially toward women. Which is quite refreshing, because in my (admittedly limited) experience with grindcore, that is not the norm. The background vocals also add a nice extra layer of aggression.
All in all, Poetry is a perfect snack for lovers of grindcore and, dare I say, a fairly easy gateway drug for people who are not yet familiar with the genre but into heavier music already. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled on the band’s Facebook page for more information! In the meantime, you can listen to their previous release on their Bandcamp page below, to which the new one will also be added on December 20th!