Where they from?
Well, Jon Chang lives in New Jersey, Bryan Fajardo resides in Texas and Takafumi lives in Japan, so the band is truly a far-flung international grindcore unit.
Why the hype?
If you’ve been living under a rock for the past 15 years or so, let me introduce you to your new favorite grindcore band. Formed from the ashes of the legendary Discordance Axis, Gridlink has been breaking new ground and essentially revolutionizing the genre since the release of Amber Gray in 2008. 2014’s magnum opus Longhena was supposed to serve as the band’s swansong while also pretty much being the best grind album of the decade. Whereas Discordance Axis was all about disharmony and cacophony, Gridlink is blisteringly melodic and embraces the sadness and sorrow that D. Axis only flirted with at times. Gridlink are simply one of the tiny handful of bands who manage to imbue a genuine sense of emotion into the chaos while remaining completely uncompromising at the same time.
Latest Release?
Coronet Juniper, Daymare Recordings. The question once again isn’t if this is the grind album of the year but rather the decade. Gridlink have done the seemingly impossible and actually one-upped the masterful Longhena with an album that leads even harder into it’s shimmering melodicism and screamo underpinnings. Album opener “Silk Ash Cascade” is one of the most memorable and stirring extreme metal songs I have heard in a very long time and the rest of the LP keeps up the heat right until the last notes of “Revenant Orchard.” No one else in extreme music is even broaching the territory that these guys are now, just be thankful that they’ve invited us along for the ride.
