Kiss Ass

Ahh, grindcore. The extreme of extreme music. The style where it is possible to play 21 tracks in just over 27 minutes... And this is actually what Ass To Mouth did on this album...

Ass To Mouth plays grindcore with some hardcore influence, mainly in the vocals, and there are some death metal elements, mostly audible in the tracks "Lord Of The Shits" and "Assfuck & The Epilogue", but other than that, this is just pure grindcore. The drummer plays a lot of blastbeats, but also some slower beats, and actually there is quite a vast array of different drumming patterns used on this record. The snare is tuned rather high and sounds ringy in that typically grindcore way. Think Last Days Of Humanity, not "St. Anger" - cool in a way, not annoying. The vocalists use growls, pig squeals and a hardcore-ish shout.

Well, I don't really listen to pure grindcore at all, but this band caught my attention. They're everything but your standard grind band. Their music is well executed, the drummer doesn't stick to three beats repeated on and on, the vocalists vary their approach, the band does everything to keep their music interesting and not monotonous as some grindcore is... In a way, they remind me of Motörhead, as all their tracks have a similar, characteristic style and sound, and yet they're all different and can be easily distinguished. Also, some of the songs are actually catchy - a good example of this is "97% Spirit Genocide", which is a song that I could imagine someone sing under the shower or something like that. Now, I want to turn everybody's attention to Jankes, ATM's vocalist, and the way he uses the pig squeals. We all know, that when they're done wrong, they're crap. Here, the vocalist uses them in an instrumental way, I'd say, and arranges them into intriguing rhythmic patterns, which is a simply brilliant idea - check out "Mr. Pig's Birthday Party" or "Evil Banana", as these two songs contain some of the best examples of rhythmic squealing in my opinion. Actually, both vocalists, Jankes and Jarek, do a great job on this record. This great vocal performance mixed with great music that makes you move your body and bang your head equals WIN. Seriously, this record makes me happy, makes me get off my seat, wiggle and smile - no matter how weird that sounds. The record is short and concrete, just the way I like it. Oh yeah, and the last song here is a Motörhead cover, you've GOT TO listen to this.

This is one of the best records of the year in my humble opinion, and I'm definitely going to use it to promote grindcore among my friends. And if you'll ever want to listen to some grind, pick this up. This is how grindcore should be done.

What to say about a band like Ass To Mouth… Well, take a look at their lyrics and you’ll find a dose of humour, as I doubt they’re serious with titles as "Mr. Pig’s birthday party" and "My mustache is thunder". But there’s no kidding around music-wise, as this is brutal to the core.

The "Asses for the masses" demo got the thinking of Pustulated and various other ultra-brutal death metal acts, but that’s gone now. What we have here is a pure grindcore album that’s been skillfully flavoured with some gore. There’s not really any need for mentioning acts for comparison, ‘cause there aren’t really any similar ones. Ass To Mouth certainly doesn’t stand out of the crowd and create something new, but there are probably hundreds of bands that have influenced their music, and trying to depict which ones can be a hassle.

Imagine pure old school grindcore (with a crusty edge of pissed off punks) that’s been hit with an ugly-stick covered in the bloody remnants of abortion, and you have Ass To Mouth. They blast, and it’s fast, fast-as-hell, with riffing that ranges from hardcore to death metal. But of course there are some slowed down sections, and with the hardcore-ish screams of Jankes it can actually sound very hardcore. But these feelings are killed in a second as the brutality sets in and the vocals turns into gored grunts and pig squeals.

An extremely enjoyable debut that does absolutely nothing to re-invent the wheel, but will give you a helluva time listening to it. And I’m impressed by Jankes for sounding even remotely similar to Lemmy during the "We are the road crew" cover.

Originally written for http://www.mylastchapter.net