Fragmentado – Antimonumento de lo Cotidiano

Continuing to dig into the surging DIY grindcore scene of the past few years, we come back to Fragmentado. This is a three-piece grindviolence from Santiago, Chile, and they’ve been making ear-bleeding noise since 2018. With an unapologetically old-school sound and fiercely anti-systemic lyrics, they grabbed our attention through their 2019 demo, a live album, and a split tape with Maldecir. In March 2024, Fragmentado self-released their first full-length, Antimonumento de lo Cotidiano, which translates as “Against the Monument of Everyday Life.”

Antimonumento de lo Cotidiano is a record that continues their brutal grind onslaught and finds the trio at the top of their musical game. The production is impressively clean without resorting to metal-like overproduction and a perfect example of modern yet raw grindcore, featuring shared vocal duties by bassist Cristian B. and guitarist Jaime V. The two vocalists alternate low growls in the vein of Warsore and Denak with high, deafening shrieks—when done well, a staple of nearly every classic grind album, and the band executes it perfectly. The guitar work stands out as a main element that makes this release so great, delivering a mix of crusty grindcore riffs, occasional powerviolence breakdowns, and at times total noisegrind chaos.

There are no filler songs; every riff is perfectly placed and complemented by the strong rhythm section and drummer Gonzalo D., who unleashes barbaric blastbeats like an absolute machine. Expect raw buzzsaw bass, crude yet compact old-school grindcore riffs, and nonstop blasts that seamlessly shift between ultra-fast sections and slower, gloomier moments.

The final track is a cover of Dios Hastío (a cult crust/grind/hardcore band from Peru), clearly one of Fragmentado’s biggest influences. You can also hear traces of older Mesoamerican acts like Rot, Cruel Face, and Subcut, plus classics like Insect Warfare, early Nasum, Blood Suckers, black/death pioneers Hadez, and especially Warsore—yet Fragmentado still manage to craft their own distinct grindviolence style tinged with death metal, truly perfected on this album.

Lyrically, the record deals with government oppression, environmental destruction, the injustice of war, and the horrors of late-stage capitalism. Despite a will to fight oppressive systems, there is an underlying sense of hopelessness, grief, and pessimism throughout. Gone is the hope for a better future; only a burning desire for retribution remains: “All that’s left / hidden in the mist / the intense flame / of resentment”

For me, Antimonumento de lo Cotidiano is undoubtedly one of 2024’s best grindcore albums—no small feat, considering how strong the genre’s releases have been this year. The mixing and mastering is excellent, improving on their earlier, muddier productions. The cover artwork by Eduardo Vargas perfectly captures the album’s bleak mood, depicting a desolate industrial landscape with a solitary figure traversing a vast urban grey. This record is an ultra-brutal textbook example of grindcore done right.

¡GRIND IS PROTEST! Ⓐ ¡GRIND IS ANARCHY! Ⓐ ¡GRIND AGAINST THE MONUMENT OF EVERYDAY LIFE! Ⓐ