Thursday, September 4, 2008
Phobia - All That Remains 7” [1990]
All That Remains is the first release (7” vinyl) by Phobia, Orange County’s premier grindcore band.
Production: Distorted guitar comes out with a fuzzy texture, and clarity in the mid ranges, with drums and bass guitar outlining at the higher and lower ends. Harsh vocals have a texture similar to the guitar, but stand out all on their own.
With their first work, Phobia demonstrates a knowledge of the building blocks of grindcore, utilizing closely-related riffs built around sets of drumming rhythmic “cells,” or repeating cycles that move along once they wear out (via hardcore, thrash), and are replaced yet again with a variant improvement of the last (via speed metal and crossover). Awareness of balance between cycles is a key motivator behind the music’s composition, lending to it an effective simplicity.
The vocalist hearkens to us from a shrouded distance, warning us of mankind’s imminent self-destruction by the poisoning of the environment, failure on society’s part, et cetera. The track Imminent Rot describes in metaphor the inner struggle in living and coping with modernity. These songs make suitable anthems that aren’t as preachy as their progeny. The topics and ideas presented here both lyrically and musically aren’t new in grindcore, but they were probably just an indication of stagnant thought; a lack of fresh ideas. Nonetheless, they make for a great starting point for improvement.
Resources
Phobia - All That Remains @ 7inchcrust
