Zero Comfort Margin

Circle Of Dead Children's latest release (from 2005; the band's been in something of a coma since then, though they're supposed to be releasing a new full-length soon). It has probably the strangest production of any of their material I've heard so far, as though it were recorded in the world's best rehearsal room. It's mixed appropriately and the drums seem very professionally done, but the mix seems inappropriately cluttered, like the instruments were recorded live and right on top of each other. It's not very distracting but it's curious.

The releases of this band generally fall into two categories: transcendent works of art in the form of modern grind, and merely very good music. 'Zero Comfort Margin' is in the latter category. I get the impression that the band was trying to recreate the success of their 'Exotic Sense Decay' EP on this but fell short. It seems composed in a similarly specific way; microsongs like stitches in a greater fabric laced together with weaving patterns of blasting and grinding versus droning ambiance. The main problem with the disc is that while its aim is admirable, it's not pure. While 'Exotic Sense Decay' was a release that fundamentally had to be taken as a whole, with individual tracks that generally made no sense without a greater context to tie them together, 'Zero Comfort Margin' tries to have its cake and eat it too through songs more easy to consume by themselves. If 'Exotic Sense Decay' was a thoroughly impressionist work, this is a CD that tries to replicate that feeling without burdening the listener as much as the previous, which makes it unable to live up to that EP's majesty.

That said, it is still of high quality when compared to other modern grind. Circle Of Dead Children make consistently interesting and artistic music, and this is no different. Even if it's not an overwhelming triumph, the overall structure and flow of the EP is much better and clearly more thought out than most other music in the same genre. The songs are unmistakably rooted in the Circle Of Dead Children sound; chainsaw tremolo riffs alternating between upbeat and atonal and the desperately melodic while drums reflect such chaos through snappy blasting and abrupt fills, all of which is encased by an extremely low, savage vocal performance. The technical performance of each member is stunning as usual. The songwriting is strong, staying interesting and consistent while remaining firmly within the realm of grind.

I suppose this release proves, if nothing else, that even a failed experiment by Circle Of Dead Children is better than most successful attempts by other bands. Fans of the group will of course want to pick it up; it's not a super priority release, but it's quality and an enjoyable listen.

Circle of dead children are a testament to how good grindcore can be yet they remain remarkably unknown by most metal fans. Zero Comfort Margin is a short but enthralling EP that shows just how good this band are at making some of the most ferocious grindcore out there.

Musically speaking this album is originally and interestingly put together. It may have the usual short track times you can expect from every other grindcore band but the songs are blessed with a more entertaining sound then the usual rubbish. This band have created a heavy record with Zero Comfort Margin and it sounds like they are in full control of this musical chaos. The instruments on this album all work well with each other and none of them are too loud or cluttered at any point. Zero Comfort Margin is pitch perfect with the songs achieving their initial goal of battering the crap out of the listener until submission. Its a short 20 minute ride but its a damn enjoyable and brutal one.

Vocally this record has a lot of range and you can tell Joe Horvath has a voice perfectly suited to this genre's hectic and vicious sound. His range is everything from extreme guttural lows to high pitched venomous screams. The vocals are another part of the music that make this EP so unflinchingly brutal.

One of the most surprising things about this record is that the lyrics seem to be quite a change from the usual gore loving obscenity. I'm not about to say that gore related lyrics ruin music but its indeed refreshing to get your hands on something this heavy that doesn't have the stereotypical lyrical subjects. The lyrics remain quite sinister and hateful throughout but with less shock value than regular bands of this of this genre.

Overall Zero Comfort Margin is well worth a look if you enjoy grindcore or deathgrind but its not at all for the faint hearted. This is some of the most inaccessible music out there so if you favorite genres of metal are the more lighter substitutes you would do well to steer clear of this.

This EP is yet another reminder to the world that Circle of Dead Children is an underrated grind band. The music is more than intense, yet still showing a level of sophistication unknown in most underground grindcore bands. The growls and howls have taken on a new level of brutality, and also keep the listener attentive to the lyrics sheet. Believe me, there's no discerning these words.

I know alot of people would be adverse to the idea that four tracks on the album are nothing more than droning instrumentals, but when listened to as a whole, the entire album has an atmosphere that is haunting and exciting, indulgent, yet terrifying.

All in all, the album is a masterpiece of speed and grunts, compacted into 20 minutes, which is as long as such a record needs to be. Believe me, 70 minutes of grindcore at such a high level of mastery is too much for the common man.