Global Horror – Decrepit Brains EP

French anarcrust trio Global Horror from Bordeaux have been terrorizing the underground scene since 2020. They got off to a powerful start with their first demo, Welcome to Your Life, mixing crustcore with raw old-school Warsore-type grindcore. As one of the most promising and relentless grindcrust bands in recent years, they continued to create and did splits with MatraK AttakK, Necrocracia, Civilian Thrower, Sewer Trench, State Terror, and other brutal contemporaries. They quickly made a name for themselves with their unforgiving sick sound and anti-capitalist message.

Part of the recently thriving French grind scene along with Whoresnation, Proudhon, Civilian Thrower, and many others, Global Horror has caught the ear of grindfreaks around the earth. Their latest EP Decrepit Brains was released on September 13th, 2024 through a conspiracy of important DIY labels for extreme punk music. Recorded at ToxStudios in July 2024 with the exquisitely done mix and mastering at Potemkin Studio by Jaco Iglesias, they sound better than ever here. Maintaining their trademark raw sonic carnage, the production is more modern and clean, but not bland and weak—a great example of how to use the latest music technology without losing the lo-fi traditions of the genre.

Consisting of seven tracks, all of which are under two minutes, this EP is an epitome of ferocious grinding crustcore. An ominous atmosphere looms that absorbs you immediately, complemented with lyrics that exemplify the despondent feeling of living in late-stage post-industrial capitalism. A nihilistic yet militant approach, they attack the neoliberal system at its core and expose its inhumane ideology that sneaks into the minds of the working class and poisons them—illustrated by the song “Slaves to Capitalism”. Apocalyptic pictures of a poisoned world where everything is justified as long as it makes money—war, murder, surveillance, chemical poisoning of the earth, vivisection…

The post-apocalyptic artwork by Andrian Slezz wonderfully fits the whole idea of the EP, with what seems to be a radioactive scenery where everything is burnt to the ground and masses of zombies are infesting the scorched planet. In the front, a one-handed undead holding a brain looks at us murderously with a gas mask on their face—a scary portal into the very possible future that awaits us…

The musical approach here is an evolved continuation of their previous releases. Global Horror maintain their raw crust/grind mixture and have gotten even heavier, accentuating more chaotic blastbeat parts with buzzsaw guitar riffs and low growls. There are more typical d-beat moments, but the songs are composed in an immersive way, and they build up perfectly. Tempo changes aren’t as common here, but the guitar and bass work is incredibly done—distorted, raw, and buzzing. Not one filler moment is present, as the band managed to create a compact body of work in which you can immerse yourself and not even realize how fast it ends.

Cou’s drumming is savage as he keeps up with the ultra-fast tempos of the songs, effortlessly switching between d-beats and blastbeats. Both Reg and KK add filthy low grunts and occasional shrieks that make us remember cult acts such as Patareni, Warsore, Disrupt, Autoritär, Unholy Grave, No Security… And of course, Hiatus—to which they pay tribute in the last song, which is an excellent cover of their cult song “Wars for Murderers”, dedicated to the band’s recently passed-away vocalist—a great homage and a testament to how important Hiatus were for crustcore and grindcore. RIP, Willy!

The cavernous sound here is excellent for Global Horror’s brand of crustgrind and adds to the general darkness of the atmosphere. With Decrepit Brains the band reached new heights of brutality, showing their ferocity and stable compositional approach. This is one of the best crust/grind releases this year. We can’t wait to hear their future endeavors as they have already achieved cult status and managed to add their own unique twist to the crustgrind subgenre which few bands do—we have enough Disrupt clones already…

A perfect tape for fans of heavily political, proudly anti-nationalist, anti-capitalist, and anti-systemic extreme punk. Support the band through their official Bandcamp page and write to the labels that co-released this anti-music gem of filthy crust-laden grindcore for a copy!