With first Rape Revenge gone, then Punch, and now Weekend Nachos, it seemed almost as if the era of grindviolence was coming to an end, as if something beautiful and

8 years ago

With first Rape Revenge gone, then Punch, and now Weekend Nachos, it seemed almost as if the era of grindviolence was coming to an end, as if something beautiful and majestic was being lost. After all, three of the sub-subgenres finest were gone and, even with Magrudergrind returning to unleash a new wave of audible hellfire later this year, a hole was created, one that seemingly could not be filled. That is until, of course, through carefully scrolling through the powerviolence tag on bandcamp, I stumbled upon Brisbane, Australia’s own Manhunt. Suddenly it seemed as if there could be hope in a world where there was none, as if “true” powerviolence fans once again had another band to complain about while secretly listening along on their iPods.

However, Manhunt is not only a godsend because they fill the empty space that the grindviolence demigods left in our hearts, but because they do it so well. Every riff is a concise attack, an attempt to drive the listener further and further away yet draw them in, a perfect toeing of the line between what is listenable and what is too extreme for the sake of being too extreme. Add to that a bass tone so heavily distorted and sludgy that it feels as if someone is repeatedly dunking your head into a tub of raw bacon fat, as well as the most perfect banshee shriek vocals ever and an affinity for rapid fire drumming, and you have Manhunt. The band is a true force of nature and works perfectly for any fan of dirty, grimy hardcore who wants to push their listening habits completely to the edge, testing how many blast beat cycles and slug-paced breakdowns they can take before finally calling it quits. Manhunt is one of Australia’s current finest, and a true testament to an extreme music scene that is now continually churning out worthwhile and interesting extreme music.

Jake Tiernan

Published 8 years ago