CRISISACT - Turn It Off - EP Review
Pictured: Dave Haley, Matthew Young, Brett Bamberger + Joe Haley - CRISISACT
Photo courtesy of CRISISACT
Will You Leave it On or Turn It Off?
Written by: Tom Wilson - Sense Music Media
The first thing that grabs you about CRISISACT’s debut EP is the fact that it doesn’t sound like a grindcore release (in the traditional sense, anyway). There’s nothing murky or raw here – guitarist Joe Haley’s production is clear, bold, and precise. The second thing that grabs you is the music, and it does not let you go – instead dragging you down for a death roll like a pissed-off crocodile. The musical chemistry between brothers Joe and Dave Haley – so remarkable in their primary band, Tassie death metallers PSYCROPTIC – is on full display here. The low-end – courtesy of REVOCATION’s Brett Bamberger – is devastatingly heavy, and the guitar sounds huge. Whereas death metal is as known for its musical technicality as it is for its dark, morbid imagery, grind is a more primitive beast. It’s snarling, volatile, agitated, and CRISISACT rip through eleven tracks in about ten minutes, leaving you stunned and bruised, with blood in your mouth and feedback ringing in your ears.
Pictured: Turn It Off Album Artwork - CRISISACT
Artwork by: Boyd Sinnot
The Review
Stepping away from the vocal stylings of his day job in KING PARROT, Matthew Young’s low growls are almost death metal – matching CANNIBAL CORPSE’s George Fisher for sheer depth and thickness. His screams, meanwhile, are absolutely ferocious – ending Fuck Knows if I Die sounding like NAPALM DEATH’s Mitch Harris having his toenails pulled off.
Joe Haley’s guitarwork pays little heed to the grindcore rulebook (if there even is such a thing), letting his skills flourish on tracks like Putrid Existence. This track, by the way, is CrisisAct’s epic, clocking in at almost one and a half minutes – the longest on the EP.
Joe’s riffs on You Are Pathetic shoot off like sparks in every direction, his brother’s drum blitzkrieg hammering you into submission, before everything suddenly jerks to a halt, and we are left with nothing but the howl of feedback and the realisation that it’s already over. CRISISACT are here for a good time, not a long time. Sounding as stark and hostile as Boyd Synnot’s artwork, the whole thing is dripping with sweat, blood and pedigree. Not one second is wasted.
The Verdict
There are only two types of people: those that love this album, and those who are wrong.
8/10
Turn It Off by CRISISACT will be available on Thursday 17 September 2020
