Where they from?
Moscow, Russia. I know I covered another Russian band last week but they were from the GREAT PLAINS OF RUSSIA, whereas this group originates from Moscow, which according to Wikipedia is the northernmost megacity on planet earth. You always hear a lot about how cold Russia is but I just checked and the average temperature in Moscow for January is 20 degrees and honestly, that’s not that bad. What’s up with everyone exaggerating their hometown weather? Don’t you have other stuff about your city you can talk about? I guess you don’t if you’re from Minnesota or some shit.
What do they sound like?
Like a grindcore band that’s right on the cusp of becoming a serious heavy hitter.
Why the hype?
After last week I did a bit of a deep dive into the fast music scene in Mother Russia and came across the four-way split this band appears on along with Nervous Impulse, Trepan Dead and More Gore. What stuck out to me about this band was how they blended influences of both American and euro styles into a brand of grindcore that, among a sea of half-assed releases on Bandcamp, managed to step up and scratch that big boy itch that Daddy Grindcore always seems to have.
In terms of composition this band is comparable to Fitcage, another Russian favorite of mine, which isn’t surprising since they also participated in another four-way split with them last year. What I really like about S.I.R. is that they combine the metallic precision and riffage of a band like Fitcage but tend to use production styles more similar to a lot of those disgusting grind/crust bands that come out of the Oakland area. The end result is, um, dare I say it?…pretty FUCKING BRUTAL.
Latest Release?
The aforementioned four-way split, Grind Your Way, which was released this past September. As soon as I heard the opening to “Hello, War!” with that super pong-y snare, I knew this was the band for me. The five songs the band has on here are pretty rifftacular and really lay out a nice little blueprint for a viable combination of grindcore and brutal death metal elements that perhaps only the (greatly exaggerated) Russian winters could inspire.
