Where they from? The Czech Republic, which is quickly becoming the international hub of all things rad and grindcore.
What do they sound like? (Deep exhale) Brutal, very brutal. Someone online recently described their sound as a continuation of Nasum’s artistic direction and though I can definitely see the comparison, I think that doesn’t do justice to just how mind-flayingly heavy this band’s music is, specifically their earlier recordings which featured rougher production quality that only made the offerings more violent.
Why the hype? Did I mention this band is fucking brutal? As someone who inundates himself with an endless stream of mediocre to just plain bad grindcore albums, this band have consistently stood out as being powerful and utilizing their sonic violence into a perfect pincer attack to just violate the ear drums just so. Though many European grindcore groups often get bogged down in adhering too strictly to the subgenre’s orthodoxys, this band has always just put insane BRUTALITY first. If you don’t believe me, check out their 2014 split with Compulsion To Kill and listen to the second song, “Am I Forced?”. The first 15 seconds of that song are simply why I got into this kind of music in the first place.
Latest Release: I was inspired to write this article when I saw that Needful Things actually had a new full-length that came out this year, Deception, out now on Psychocontrol Records. This is their third full-length album and it does feature some better production quality than their earlier efforts and even a few instances of murderous groove, but after several listens I can assure you that this effort is still quite, um, what’s the word I’m looking for here…BRUTAL.
Favorite Track: Since I’m a good PR man, I’m going to pick a song of the new album rather than the one I mentioned earlier (listen to both, you schmuck!). “So Shut The Fuck Up” basically exhibits the band’s new sense of thuggish groove but then explodes with a final ten seconds that I can only describe as, uh, ….damn, what’s the wor—BRUTAL.
