GRINDFERNÖ – Human Stupidity

GRINDFERNÖ is a new, mysterious crustgrind band from Spain that consists of two members (Pablo and Avellano) of veteran bands in their scene such as Proyecto Terror, Disthroat, Mobcharge and others. Given the connection to Proyecto Terror, one of the best mincecore bands that ever existed, the sound direction they’ve taken on their debut album Human Stupidity seems obvious, but it’s not as simple as it seems at first, because the band really has something special to offer here…

Released on May 7, 2023 by the band and EveryDayHate Records (who did a beautiful ecopack CD), the album contains 40 songs full of fierce brutality, raging d-beats combined with incessant blast beats, relentless punk as fuck powerful guitar riffs from Pablo and excruciating vocal high and low screams from Avellano, who also did the bass, drums, mix, mastering and even the ominous dark artwork of the album.

The album features excellent covers of classic bands in the mince/crust/grind genre, such as local legends Violent Headache and Denak, Carcass Grinder, Napalm Death, Sore Throat, Arsedestroyer and Filthy Christians—which are more of a homage, as Proyecto Terror were contemporaries of all these cult bands.

After the first track “Nazi Bullshit” and its iconic intro about killing Nazis, you are quickly immersed in the chaotic yet masterfully crafted atmosphere of this record. Presented with an array of eclectic and varied influences (you can hear traces of old Agathocles, Nasum, classic Spanish mincecore, Discharge, Hiatus, Terrorizer, Disrupt, etc). In short, Human Stupidity manages to never sound boring or tired.  Everything is excellently done with an obvious passionate dedication to the DIY sound/scene and to the staunchly militant political message that GRINDFERNÖ are pushing to the max here—aggressive critique of neocolonialism, capitalism, racism and all patriarchal structures of control that continue to enslave us in a never-ending cycle of post-industrial capitalist commodification and systemic terror. Grindcore is protest! Ⓐ

The high quality of the songwriting speaks for itself, as I have rarely experienced such a compact mix of crust, mince, grind and d-beat all melted into one and sounding so convincing and original, especially in these times of countless bands imitating each other. I guess being veterans of the scene helps a lot—and Pablo and Avellano show us once again that the Spanish antiauthoritarian DIY scene is alive and kicking more than ever. Thunderous, unrelenting and consistently powerful guitar work that sometimes sounds like an ear-shattering chainsaw, distorted and raw catchy bass lines, varied and ferocious vocal technique ranging from haunting screams to very deep Lee Dorian-style growls, persistent and brutal drumming that goes from d-beat to blast beat in a matter of seconds—what more could you ask for in a grindcore record?

The mix and mastering on Human Stupidity is very well done and sounds modern and clear without ending up too sharp or clean. Avellano seems to have experience in these areas as well, he seems to be a man of many crafts… If you like raw as fuck, berserk anti-capitalist anti-racist crustgrind, GRINDFERNÖ will definitely be right up your alley. Released on CD via EveryDayHate, there are only a few left.