Murder Construct - Self-Titled
First, before we get anywhere, watch this video of Danny Walker drumming for Murder Construct. It is not sped up.
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If you were in a band, it would be nice to have that behind you.
When guitarist Leon del Muerte left Intronaut (one of Walker’s current bands) several years ago, I asked someone close to the band why. The answer: “Leon just wants to grind”.
“Grind” as an intransitive verb:
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I am particular about my musical particulation. Grindcore is the intersection of punk rock and death metal; I prefer the midpoint of that intersection. Lean too much one way, and you get juiced-up punk rock. Lean too much the other way, and you get streamlined death metal. Both are boring.
Murder Construct, del Muerte’s “new” band (10 years old, first record deal this year), strike the perfect balance of scrappy and scary. Their chops are death metal, but the songs move from all-out blasting to angular accents to slow doom to noise interludes. The magic lies in how organically these elements tie together. “Songwriting” isn’t a huge buzzword in grindcore, but it’s hard at work here. Each song is distinct and memorable. I don’t know what they’re about – the lyrics in the digipak for this EP (Relapse, 2010) are virtually unreadable (all run together, faint ink) – but I’ve witnessed them live twice and on record many times, and they indeed perform the operation of reducing to fine particles.
Consider this EP a tasty calling card. A full-length is forthcoming; let’s hope it tells us what vocalist Travis Ryan is banging on about. After one recording, Murder Construct are already one of the best grind bands out there.
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EP GIVEAWAY
I am giving away a CD of this EP. For a chance to enter, simply state in the comments below who you think is the best active grindcore band today. (The folks at Grind and Punishment voted, after a bracket-style tournament, for Gridlink.) International entrants are welcome. The deadline is midnight PST this Saturday, Christmas.
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HEAR MURDER CONSTRUCT
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“Control”
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BUY MURDER CONSTRUCT
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