Where they from?
New Jersey, specifically South Jersey. I was thinking the other day about how Philadelphia makes more sense if you don’t think about it as where the founding fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776, but more as the capital of South Jersey, a land strewn with Wawas, Flyers’ hats and horrible accents. And, yes, this is coming from a guy who just lived in Haddonfield for the past year.
Why the hype?
If you follow this column or just know me personally, you would know how much I already fucking LOVE THIS BAND. I mean, it’s a simple formula, you combine Napalm Death style grindcore with Madball inspired fight riffs and you make sure to have some memorable mosh calls here and there, and I am fucking in. Ground really do such an excellent job of bringing the tough-guy persona of modern hardcore into the world of powerviolence/grind without ever making it corny or too committed to itself. There’s a specific reason why all the crust punks in London fuck with this band, they are hard as fuck without ever sacrificing their dedication to grindcore “trueness.”
Latest album?
Habitual Self Abuse, Hibernation Release. Having taken a lengthy, pandemic-fueled absence since 2019’s stellar Mourn Innocence, the band could easily have just phoned something in to please it’s rabid fanbase (me) but instead have produced arguably their most polished effort to date. You can tell Mike Mayo has been listening to a lot of Slayer as his guitar work features a lot of evil arpeggios that slither in and out of your ear like Kerry King at his most demonic. Also, the title track is the heaviest thing I have ever heard. Cannot wait to dislocate my shoulder to it.
