Columns – Please Explode (Relapse)
Tuesday, 29th July 2014
Savage southern-fried death/grind from former members of Hemdale and Adam Cody of Wretched is what’s in store for listeners of Columns. With song titles like “Mudfucker,” “Punching Nancy Grace,” and “Bear Molester,” you can tell that subtlety is going out the window when you press play on this one. But who listens to death/grind for a subtle and reserved experience anyway?
Please Explode takes 16 blistering tracks and spreads them out over roughly 35-minutes. Clearly, the grind aesthetic of ‘get in, get out’ is followed diligently and to punishing effect. Of course, there is plenty of piss and vinegar in grinders like “Rattlesnake Steps,” “Vicarious Living,” and “A Guilty Bunch.” Things cling nicely to the fast and chaotic, with Adam Cody’s vocals providing the necessary acidity to do the trick.
What keeps Columns from grinding out on speed alone is their greatest weapon. “No One’s Fucking Waiting” and “What You’ve Done is Gone” have groove in spades and a bit of southern aroma. Columns’ attention to details within the riff department while keeping things grinding along is impressive. Other songs like “Our Creation” and “Harmless Escape” have crushing yet memorable riffs that stray from the typical, “lets play as fast as possible and who cares what it sounds like” flavored stylings the subgenre can be known for while adding a pleasant level of grime to the proceedings.
A band with plenty of prior experience, it’s no surprise that Columns rises above most of their peers with Please Explode. Any band can blast out 2-minute grind songs at full speed, but it takes some tact and talent to put together something that is equal parts grind and complete filth. This is a middle finger to typical death/grind.
