SLUGCRUST — ‘DISCHARGE(D)’

Writer’s Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Starting with beautifully guttural vocals and a sonic attack of drums, low-pitched grinding guitar, and a crackling background drone, ‘The Antitrust’ is a startling and furious introduction to ‘Discharge(d).’ It comes in at a clean 53 seconds, and every second from the first to the last feels violent. It sets the bar high for the EP, and Slugcrust continually smash through it.

They continually innovate on ‘DIscharge(d)’, moving into sonic spaces that become incrementally more hostile, yet incrementally more engaging. Paradoxically, the more warped the instrumentation and vocalisation becomes, the more involved I feel in the EP.

‘Feral Natural’ is slower, thudding more than galloping, and its climactic scream of the title lyric is an exercise in vocal greatness. ‘DISCHARGE(D)’ never lets up at any point. The individual tracks crash into one another in an explosion of cymbals and a belching yelled vocal style. Jesse Cole delivers every word like it hurts him, and moreover, like he wants it to hurt anyone listening.

‘Default Option’ ends in a flurry of drums and screaming that feel like a pushing of the medium of grindcore music to its edges. At certain points, ‘DISCHARGE(D)’ ceases to be specifically musical, transcending through pure chaos into something outside of the medium. This transgression through walls of noise, combined with the constant fury of the sonic landscape, is what makes ‘DISCHARGE(D)’ so masterful. It’s an epitomisation of its genre, a slightly-gross feeling exercise in pushing boundaries. ‘V4’ brings to mind hardcore instrumentation with its galloping drums and the rhythmic dinging of the cowbell. It's a short, sharp shock, just as angry as the rest, but with an invigorating and energetic quickness that makes it really stand out.

Title track and final track ‘Discharge(d)’ starts with a wall of pure sound. Its beginning is almost abstract in its alienating strangeness. It then folds into indistinguishable screaming. Like ‘Default Option’, its concluding aggressive mania of drums and growling vocals makes it feel like a nigh-spiritual experience, as if Slugcrust are tapping into something base and feral. Clocking in at three minutes, it’s the most traditional ‘song’ on the album—the rest are adrenaline shots directly to the heart. I felt like I clawed my way out of this EP, rather than just listening to its end.

‘Discharge(d)’ is an absolute master stroke by Slugcrust. It’s tight, well-delivered, entirely incomprehensible, and an exercise in creating a mood so distinct that it seems to transgress what music even is. Its microsongs all blend together into a flurry of pure energy, climaxing in the title song; it perfectly delivers its own aesthetic thesis, building up to punch the listener directly in the ear drum. I absolutely adore ‘Discharge(d).’ In terms of the grind scene, Slugcrust are the ones to watch. They’re doing something that I can’t quite put my finger on, but I am absolutely with them for the discovery of.