Incorporated

One of the most unique entries in the metal music catalogue, Grip Inc. received a fair bit of attention for being the first serious path taken by Dave Lombardo after his definitive demise from Slayer, teamed up with the then less-known guitarist and producer Waldemar Sorychta. Their debut Power of Inner Strength could have been seen as the answer to his main band's works around this time, which were basically the last signs of vital energy before the complete capitulation to the trends found in Diabolus in Musica; but you could still tell it was a '90s output, in the sense that, barring the full-throttle thrash outbursts, it possessed some elements that guarantee you will never misjudge the time period in which it was born, not least the average tempo, the production or the vocals of Gus Chambers. Having substantially remained a side-project throughout its whole life, the subsequent streak of four albums in nine years is still adequate, and the masterminds behind the entity made sure to keep the quality level at similar, if not grander, heights, and at the same time experiment each time with something different. By the time Incorporated hit the shelves in 2004, Grip Inc. had still remained loyal to their brand of groove metal, but remaining in the obscure territory where said label is not meant as an insult (which is a quite impressive feat per se).

So, despite how some people like to compare the two, Grip Inc. does not share many features with Slayer. Sure, one may recognize the familiar hardness which Lombardo hits his drums with during the faster passages, but with a good half of the songs being entirely slow/mid-tempo it wouldn't be wrong to assume he didn't want to steal the scene here. I could listen to him destroying the kit with his fills for hours, but when he sits back and gives the other members more room to breathe, the results can be equally amazing. Maybe it's not the case for Slayer, but regarding Grip Inc., the carefully calculated and strategically placed ideas of Sorychta are really worth hearing without a constant barrage of drums playing in the meantime. Grip Inc. have always sounded like no other band, and you can't really go wrong with any of their albums, but Incorporated arguably shows them at their peak of inspiration and originality, although it will sadly end up being the last chapter in their quality discography, especially following the untimely death of the charismatic frontman Gus Chambers in 2008.

I have to say that the man is hands down the real star of the show, however. He delivers an absolutely stellar performance on this. As soon as the opener kicks in, with his voice declaiming the gloomy words on the title of this review, you know you're in for a real treat. Again, not unlike what I said about the band, I really can't seem to find any other vocalists with a similar tone. There is surely a sort of punkish flavour, and even his angriest yells don't quite match with the rage of your Arayas, Petrozzas etc. One thing that is for sure, however, is that you don't see somebody shifting so effortlessly between styles every day. The guy could truly convey an enviable array of feelings throughout his voice, and his solemn, but still warm, almost baritone clean singing is the real deal for me. Not to mention that he still remains credible as a thrash frontman, especially when joined by the additional shouts of Sorychta during the most adrenaline-pumping sections. Seriously, there would be so much to write about the vocals only. Just close your eyes and let your mind follow the tortuous but fascinating route which is the tracklist, and try to elaborate every single mood you go through, thanks to the vocals and to the masterfully crafted background.

Yes, it's quite an uncommon experience, and it gives its best if enjoyed with a certain dose of concentration and dedication, but despite all this it's even surprisingly catchy, as there are no songs which would need different listens to be remembered, or even understood. And when an album manages to be simultaneously complex, various and immediate, the adjective 'memorable' seems a pretty superfluous addition, instead of the goal that many bands fail to even approach. The hardest-hitting numbers like 'Curse (of the Cloth)' and 'Skin Trade' may even overthrow the debut hit 'Hostage to Heaven' in terms of sheer power, helped by Sorychta's ridiculously good production, which nearly overshadows his remarkable work on the guitars and bass department. Nevertheless, with the other exception of the charming 'thrash with violins' piece otherwise called 'Privilege', as I said before most of the running time is spent either on titanic, muscular grooves, with the best examples of which being 'The Gift' and the menacing 'Blood of Saints', or slower songs in which the distorted guitar is left abandoned for more time than you'd initially think it was necessary, like the excellent 'Enemy Mind' or the equally catchy 'Prophecy'. Those already familiar with Grip Inc. may see it as a 'typical' feature, but with a lesser thrash influence; still, I couldn't think of any way to improve the overall balance between the styles on display here. This album really brings each and every aspect to the next level.

Sometimes saying that every song has something special in it is an abused statement, but Incorporated truly cares about getting every compliment you can imagine, so that's actually true. Really, I feel the only song I didn't fall for has to be 'The Answer', and it's mainly due to its slightly weak chorus, rather than the song in itself. In the more ambitious moments of 'Privilege' or 'Man with No Insides', or in the breathtaking title-repeating – despite the apparent oxymoron, it's true – chorus of '(Built to) Resist', I always find myself on the verge of hating them, out of envy. It's quite a compliment to make, I guess.

If you don't know Grip Inc. yet, you have absolutely no reason to keep avoiding them. Oh well, except if you don't want to change forever your perception about metal, that's it.

Probably because of the participation of Dave Lombardo, Grip Inc. always appeared to me as a more mature version of Slayer. I am not speaking of the music, but of the aura, the image and the lyrics. Grip Inc. had no interest in delivering a demonic (or shall I say childish) approach. The band did neither focus on a devilish image nor did the multinational group use abstruse "Heydrich" stickers. Furthermore, the lyrics did not deal with comparable "satanic" or "evil" themes. The real life and its daily news were cruel enough in order to write about appropriately selected topics. To put it plainly, Grip Inc. could be understood as an adult oriented thrash squadron. This does not mean that the group lacked of fierceness. The band was absolutely not afraid of flattening riffs and high velocity outbursts. On top of that, the highly experienced musicians perfectly demonstrated their ability to invest their energy in a targeted manner. The songs developed an almost unbelievable effectiveness. Especially the exciting combination of calmer parts with explosive outbreaks really kicked ass. It is no exaggeration to say that Grip Inc. operated like a precisely adjusted clockwork.

The outstanding production satisfied all requirements. This came as no surprise after their first three albums. Each and every previous output had also offered an admirable sonic brilliance. Producer Waldemar Sorychta was an absolute specialist in his trade. Rawness and transparency, heaviness and sharpness - Sorychta found the right balance with instinctive sureness so that the versatility of the sound deserved the highest praise. The band proudly announced that "every note on this album was played, sung and recorded in analog" and maybe especially this way of proceeding led to a result that put the sound in a class of its own.

But Sorychta had more important tasks to fulfill than "only" to produce "Incorporated". Every single song had been written by him. And, of course, he performed the incredibly sharp riffs in an outstanding manner. I am sure that these riffs made King and Hanneman think about the horrible mediocrity of "Diabolus in Musica". To cut a long story, this multi-talent masterly managed three jobs. The overwhelming majority of the songs proved his compositional capabilities. No matter if you listen to the mind-blowingly aggressive opener or the slightly melancholic "Enemy Mind", Grip Inc. were able to execute excellently all forms of thrash metal. The most furious song (and my favourite tune) was the straightforward "Skin Trade". It showed no mercy while presenting razor-sharp riffs and ultimately efficient double-bass drums. The combination of these elements generated an incredible dynamic as well as an almost intolerable pressure. Kerry King, did you feel the difference? No way! This was tradition-conscious thrash with smartly integrated modern elements in a top actual sound format. Even the occasionally appearing synthesizer enriched the album. Needless to say that its use did not lead to a sterile or clinical sound. Every cog intermeshed with the next one, although one number ("Built to Resist") was slightly weaker than the rest. Apart from this minor flaw, "Incorporated" appeared as a demonstration of power. Too bad that this was their last album. Gus Chambers, rest in peace.

Welcome to the most underrated album of 2004. The metal community really is fickle sometimes. For some strange reason, and despite a line up that features a no contest metal drum-god (Mr. Dave Lombardo) and one of the most revered metal producers around (Waldermar Sorychta), Grip Inc have never received the exposure or success they deserved. I’ve never understood it at all.

Ever since their debut album in 1995, there has been this underlying expectation that Grip Inc should sound like Slayer. Hell, there are moments on 95’s ‘Power of Inner Strength’ that acknowledge Lombardo’s other band in awesome style. However, once people realized that Grip Inc refused to play the game 100%, mass acceptance went out the window. As far as I am concerned, those who opted to dismiss Grip Inc as a poor mans thrash metal act missed out on some genuinely killer music. This trend continued with 97’s ‘Nemesis’ and 99’s ‘Solidify’, and so it seems (judging by what I’ve read) it will continue with ‘Incorporated’. Fools.

‘Incorporated’ appears after a five year absence from the scene. Sorychta went back to producing. Lombardo went to Testament, Famtomas and back to Slayer. Vocalist Gus Chambers just went away. Getting back together for ‘Incorporated’ is one of the best decisions this core group of individuals has ever made – this is simply their most cohesive and energetic album of their careers. Fans of Grip Inc will be pleased to know that ‘Incorporated’ is loaded with their signature trademark sound – forward thinking modern Thrash Metal with those quirky Grip Inc progressive characteristics thrown in. Lombardo and Sorychta are the drivers of this beast – Lombardo with his classic style and other kit embellishments on full display. Meanwhile Sorychta churns out some of the catchiest and inventive metal riffs you’re likely to hear this year. As great as these two are, it is the charismatic vocal edge of Gus Chambers that makes Grip Inc just a tad more original than the rest. Some people can’t take his punk/English accent that affects most of his lyrical phrasing – me, I reckon his is one of the more distinctive and expressive styles in the genre.

It’s needless to point out, but ‘Incorporated’ has a simply incredible production. One of the best metal productions you’ll hear – Sorychta is not a highly sought after producer for nothing folks. This is clean and heavy with emphasis on all core sounds of the band – riffs, drums and vocals – brilliantly mixed and conceived in every way.

Musically, Grip Inc seems to have embraced a more aggressive sound this time around. The modern take on Thrash is highly evident via Sorychta killer riffage and Lombardo’s speed on the snare and those unmistakable double bass kicks. However, true to GI form, there is much more to digest. Add part synthesizer, mandolins, classical acoustic guitars, string sections and flamenco sitars to the core sound and things automatically get a little more interesting. Only Grip Inc could get away with it, but as stated earlier, these are the parts of GI’s sound that a lot of metal fans seem to show indifference too. I couldn’t disagree more really. Grip Inc can thrash like bastards no question and they sound fucking awesome (check out ‘Curse of the Cloth’ and ‘Skin Trade’) when they do it. But it is when they don’t opt for the easy path that makes their songs even more challenging diverse. Yeah, some of this comes straight out of left field (Enemy Mind and Resist), but if you’ve followed Grip Inc from the beginning none of what they do will surprise you. It will enthrall.

Grip Inc play intelligent modern thrash metal for this millennium. There is guts, ideas and substance to this new album that only this band is capable of producing. With simply stunning song writing and production values ‘Incorporated’ is thoroughly dynamic and vibrant throughout its entirety. Also, watch out for the Enhanced video version that contains in studio video of ‘Curse of the Cloth’, ‘The Answer’ and a 10 minute ‘Making of’ video – with loads of Lombardo kit destroy-ation close-ups!) This is brilliant. I cannot recommend high enough. Once again, welcome to the most underrated album of 2004.

In my opinion, this album is a masterpiece. Bashing this new work from Grip Inc. is complete nonsense, for mainly two reasons: the first is the great passion felt throughout all the songs, the second is the perfect combination music/lyrics we rarely hear on ANY other metal album.
No point really in discussing the great musicianship displayed by the super-trio, nor the tendency to push the boundaries of an almost-dead genre to new horizons. What makes the difference here, on this "Incorporated" is the mix of styles, rythms, song structures and so on, most of which manage to be both heavy as hell and intense and moving as classical music. Not to mention the great word written for each track, fitting in the music precisely while delivering intelligent themes and deep reflections (some band tend to forget this part of a song, and many listeners don't care, but if so - why bother? close yourself in the rusted cage of limited genres and go listen to some sh*tty nazi "black" or any cheesy "power" euro crap you find, we're talking REAL GOOD MUSIC here).
Atmospheres are created to surrond the already more than sufficiently good melodies; catchy, fast & heavy wonderful riffs -like only Waldemar Sorychta can create- cover the excellent drumming provided by the great Dave Lombardo, and the extraordinary vocal performance of Gus Chambers (who's becoming beter and better each year) compleate this jewel. Again, I think it would be useless to describe the songs too much in the detail, because they're all very diverse and peculiar in their own way, and they're all quite special, with some peak reached by the opener "Curse (Of the Cloth)" with its immediate aggression of heavy riffs, the very interesting "Prophecy" is the perfect example of thoughtful lyrics/great music, while the central triplet "Enemy Mind", "Skin Trade", "(Built to) Resist" is the real core of the album, as these three songs have the best moments of the almost 50 minutes of total running time, being experimental in some way, yet traditionally heavy and metal in all their essence, then "Blood of Saints" is a confirmation to everithing said above: heavy, catchy, well-executed, varied and fresh, with great words and great notes. The album closer "Man with NO insides" is dark and heavy, and is an ideal end for this musical journey, leaving you with something to think about and the will to start listening again to all the highly entertaining tracks.
A plus is the video material, consisting of two videos ("Curse" and "The Answer") and a "making of", adding more value to this already good product, with a full lyrics booklet and an interesting design.
Definately a good buy and a must have for heavy metal fanatics.

I´ll have to disagree with the former reviews posted for this album.

Incorporated is an awesome album, possibily Grip Inc.´s best after Power of Inner Strenght. If not better.

I´ve followed this band since it´s beggining, and have never considered them a pure thrash band. Since the first album they put different influences into their music creating an unique identity. Grip Inc. don´t sound like anyone else, period. On the second and third albums they progressed on that fusion of styles and ideas, but somehow those albums lacked the punch of the first release.

But now they´re back on full force. Incorporated is a hell of an album. The heavy parts are there, the fast thrash parts too, all mixed with tons of other influences like heavy percussion, flamenco guitars, electronic noises, all blended in a way it still sounds fucking metal!! The songwriting is superb and mixes all those elements in a very inteligent way. The punch and heavyness are always there, and the thrash parts are fucking killer.

Individually speaking, the playing is great. There´s no need to speak about Lombardo´s hability on drums, he simply crushes on this album. Waldemar Sorychita is a fantastic guitar player, and is a very creative songwriter. The bass lines he recorded are very cool as well. Gus Chambers has his unique style of singing, but this time he has broadened his range, utilizing clean parts mixed to his agressive shouts.

I recommend this album to anywone with an open mind. It´s complex, heavy and thrashes all around. Great stuff.

Choice cuts: "The Man With No Insides", "Enemy Mind", "Skin Trade".