Artist: Xerostomia
Album: 39 Trax Demo
Release Date: January 1st, 2019
Format: Cassette Tape
This tape is sick.
I could end the review with that, but I won’t. This release is a well thought out concept. The art and layout are exciting. In the name of found art, vintage photos are taped onto the J-card. What a super cool concept! Looking at the Bandcamp each tape was made with a different photo for the cover.
The tracks are pure, blistering fast grindcore. This is the perfect encapsulation of everything I appreciate in the genre. Ridiculous aggression and musical violence pummel the ears from start to end. The tape itself is completely wrapped in “Xerostomia” labeling over a grey smoke colored tape beneath.
I first listened to this tape in my Jeep while back roading after a blizzard, and the blast beats and chugging riffs fit right in with the snow. I found myself headbanging as I was dashing through the snow! Track after track of blasts, shrieks and riffage, a mess of noise really, but in the best way possible. Sonically the guitar sits at a super low range, some of it gets lost in the chaos. Or is that what makes the chaos? The vocals go from guttural grunting to shrieks, guitars chugging then lost in the mess of ridiculous riffage. The drums blasting away keep the assault onward – pure sonic noise. You can hear each piece but it’s so blistering fast, is that a bass drum? A tom? That was def a snare… holy blast beats what is happening.
My favorite part of this tape is that it looks just as sweaty as the music sounds. The longest track is 27 seconds. Once I got on Bandcamp I realized there are 39 tracks. That is a total of 39 tracks in under 10 mins of wreckage. This was the groups “Demo,” and according to the internet – Xerostomia are actively playing shows in the Detroit area. Links below!
