Andrew DuncanANTIGAMA – The Insolent (Selfmadegod Records)
★★★
The first seconds of The Insolent is the most important. There is no build-ups, no introductions or no beating around the bush, the agonizing scream that starts the album is brutal. It’s not too long or too short. Yet it’s a statement maker, and one that you will not forget.
This intros us into “Reward or Punishment,” and you have to ask that of yourself as Poland’s Antigama launches into their seventh release. It also showcases Antigama as being their strongest yet. There is no filler to behold as each song carries equal amount of weight.
What makes this album great is that the band does not exploit extremes and combines them into a mixture of various creative avenues and devices. “Foul Play” is extreme metal for a minute thirty seconds and what intermingles death and grindcore twists into a swing rhythm for a moment and you are left scratching your head at why that all made sense. The rest is like a Ministry song during Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste and Psalm 69 together.
Antigama – Eraser
Don’t take a breath because “Data Overload” is immediately on the heels, not stopping for a second to reposition rapid fire beats and throat carnage from Lukasz Mszkowski. The group maintains an intensity and never seems to slow down the hyperspeed musicianship despite the album moving fast.
The album is more than bursts of froth-covered rabies-infected energy. The four-plus minute progressive “Sentenced To The Void,” and “Land of Monotony,” a seven-plus minute grindcore frenzy meets Melvins standards. Again, if you like mid-range Ministry through a wasteland bombed by Napalm Death then this album is a perfect fit.
It’s an ideal release to cast off their sails and return to the United States since 2009.