Dahmer


Dahmer

Canada Country of Origin: Canada

Dahmer
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Type: EP
Release Date: 1996
Label: Spineless Records
Genre: Death, Grindcore
1. 24. Premières Nations
2. 25. Herbert Mullin
3. 26. William George Bonin
4. 27. Randy Stephen Kraft
5. 28. Thomas Hamilton
6. 8. Harvey Murray Glatman
7. 19. Friedrich Haarmann
8. 22. Henry Lee Lucas
9. 23. Edmund Emil Kemper 3


Review by Carl on September 9, 2023.

This is fukkin' awesome!! Dahmer were one of the best grindcore bands in the second half of the 90's. I unfortunately never got to see them live, but their output on tape and vinyl is more than worth the effort as well, with the band even being able to lay claim to the assertion of having a sound of their own. They may have been gone for a while now, but better believe me when I say that they are by no means forgotten.

If someone should ask what grindcore is, you could just play them this EP, because this has all the trademarks present: growls and screams, blastbeats, raging simple guitar work and a high tempo for most part, all of this poured into short stabs of sonic terror, sure to thoroughly annoy your neighbors and drive your mom into a demented furor. Dahmer don't dilly-dally around and fire off round after round of blasting ferocity in the vein of Agathocles, Rot and old Napalm Death, with a spattering of thrashcore a la Infest, Capitalist Casualties and Righteous Pigs thrown in, simply blast-beating everyone and everything out of the way. Drenched in distortion and fuzz, the bass and guitar sound like an immense swarm of pissed off locusts about to come down on your grandma's kitchen garden, while the growling/screaming dual vocal attack puke forth all types of unpleasantness (primarily) about serial killers. Underpinned by a truly raging percussive assault, these proceedings speed forth like mad, with only some sparse slower sections thrown in. No song clocks in over the 2 minute mark, and dammit!, this kicks so much ass!!

The production is as expected from the style circa 1996: raw, fuzzed out and not all that concerned about niceties and balance. Vocals, guitars and percussion overpower each other in varying degrees throughout, but despite that, the blunt power Dahmer exudes stays well intact. And blunt power is what this kind of grind is all about, baby! This stuff sounds exactly the way I want it to sound, and just try to change my mind about that.

This is a tasty morsel of 90's underground delight, and listening to this, I realize just how much I miss these guys. If you like your grindcore pure and simple and bursting with aggression, this is for you! And to those who might want to poo-poo this: fuck you and your musical niceties and what-have-ya, this is sheer unhinged grindcore power!

Rating: 9 out of 10

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