Where they from? Haifa, Israel, the third largest city in Israel and home to “Matam,” which Wikipedia describes as one of the country’s “oldest and largest hi-tech parks.” I’m not sure what a “hi-tech park” is exactly, but still, sounds kind of cool.
What do they sound like? Surprisingly American-style grind-violence, similar to bands like WVRM and Full of Hell.
Why the hype? So, recently here in the United States, there was a mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh that was fueled by anti-Semitic zealotry. I’m a big proponent in combatting racism in any way I can and so I thought it would be a nice sign of solidarity if I were to cover this week a band who are pretty unabashedly Jewish in their overall presentation.
But also, this band kind of rules. I get the feeling that American-style nerd metal elitism has made its way over to their neck of the woods because this band isn’t afraid to revel in moments of blackened sludge that actually make for some of the most memorable moments in their songs. Everything about this just feels really genuine and it’s not like the fast parts are lacking either. Wow, it’s almost like if you don’t have a stick up your ass and let grindcore naturally veer into adjacent subgenres, you can make something really unique and memorable! WHO WOULD’VE THOUGHT??
Latest Release: Lo Yikre. It really says something about this album that I actually took the five minutes required to translate all the lyrics from Hebrew to English only to find they are just as vaguely bleak as any other grind lyrics. Also, I need to mention that the use of the snare drum here really reminds me of Sick/Tired. Just thought I’d throw that in there.
Favorite Track: “Negif,” the opening track on the album. Really captures the essence of what this band is about: thrashing, blackened grind/sludge. Try saying that ten times fast.
