As is expected with grindcore, it will take you much longer to read this post than it will to listen to the track. As expected from grindcore which I premiere and write about, this one is progressive, complicated, and intensely challenging and also features Takafumi Matsubara and Bryan Fajardo. As soon as it came back, GRIDLINK disappeared again and as soon as it did, Matsubara collected many of his interstellar crew of grindcore mercenaries to keep making jagged, intense music. The result is Barren Path, who are set to release an absolutely killer album titled Grieving at the end of this month via (who else) Willowtip Records. We have a track for you from it today and oh boy does it go hard. Scroll down, check it out, reassemble your brain, and I'll see you down there.
Yeah, this is Matsubara and Fajardo alright. "In the End, The Gift is Death" is emblematic of everything that Barren Path is: another step down the winding path of the uncompromising project of keep grindcore interesting, complicated, and intricate. As opposed to GRIDLINK, the sound here is more death metal oriented, cleaner and more direct in many ways. I especially love the snare tone on this one, meaty and present to supercharge the whole affair with an undeniable energy that is very hard to resist. Add in guitar licks that court the spaces between crossover thrash and the early days of death metal, wrap it all up in that "sideways", off-kilter, and technical approach to composition that garnered Matsubara his fame, sprinkle in absolutely corrosive vocals, and you've got everything you need for a good time.
You know the drill - head on over to the mighty Willowtip for some sick merch, and get your pre-order via Bandcamp. Album drops October 31st - don't sleep on it.