Harpoon - Double Gnarly/Triple Suicide Review
by Mark Hensch
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Hearing a song off Harpoon's debut full-length is like watching someone walk into a room and spray it down with bullets. It grabs one's attention like a face full of birdshot and stays inside like a bullet hole. This Chicago, Illinois grind outfit has got the genre nailed - this is a short but controlled burst of aggression, fully intent on absolute warfare in a brief window of time.
In a smart move, Double Gnarly/Triple Suicide begins with "Company Man," a well-crafted thrasher perfect in its role as the lull before the shelling. Its droning intro allows listeners a deep breath before the real music kicks in. Once it does, the order of the day is groove-laden grind that rattles skulls while flying by at jet fighter speeds.
"Lefty" starts the assault with a blistering anthem which melts faces like a short-fuse Roman candle. "The Midget and the Duchess," meanwhile, lacerates eardrums with a mix of rabid grooves and furious breakdowns. "The Cacographer," in true Pig Destroyer fashion, accelerates wicked rock riffs so fast they blur into a vicious torrent of sludge. After this, "Buddy System" zooms by with strafing guitars, carpet-bombing drums, and a nuclear payload of angular, piercing notes. "Bad Beekeeping," for its part, unloads a stream of molten thrash before devolving into a savage beatdown all in under a minute and a half. Last but not least, the self-referential "You Should Be Longer" reveals itself as a high-octane monster of a song, replete with ripping guitar runs and demonic laughter.
By the time "The Difficulty in Listening to the Elderly" rolls in with its mid-paced, steamroller riffs, resistance is futile. Like all truly remarkable grind, Double Gnarly/Triple Suicide revels in the speed of slaughter, always careening further and further into depravity. Though one can argue that it is over all too fast, that is precisely the point. These talented grinders put all they have in one final, desperate jab and it shows - Double Gnarly/Triple Suicide achieves the perfect balance between brevity and brutality.
Tracklisting
Company Man
Lefty
The Midget and the Duchess
The Cacographer
Walter f***ing Reuther
Buddy System
Sloth-Ass
Frogs, Boils, Locusts
Throngs
Bad Beekeeping
You should be Longer
The Difficulty in Listening to the Elderly
CD Info and Links
Harpoon - Double Gnarly/Triple Suicide Rating:8.5
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