Grip Inc.

You say it gets more progressive with each album?  What were some of the better songs?  Maybe I heard the wrong ones.

 

 

I absolutely love Grip Inc. and in fact I consider them to be one of the best metal bands post-95. 

Their best albums are Nemesis (1997) and Incorporated (2004), with the other two also being great stuff.

In essence they were always a trio, the bassists were never stable or important really.

The core of the band was Waldemar Sorychta, Dave Lombardo and Gus Chambers. Waldemar, the Polish guitarist, is perhaps known to some from his work in the German thrash band Despair. He then played in Voodoocult, as did Dave Lombardo, where they hooked up for Grip. He is also known for some of his production work, especially in the "atmospheric" side of metal (he did Tiamat, The Gathering, Sentenced, I think Lacuna Coil as well, and more, not my preference). He also did the production for an obscure favourite of mine, Crows - The Dying Race (really cool power/thrash).

Lombardo needs no introduction, he left Slayer and in my opinion proved to be by far the most "musical" one, seeking to do fresh and original stuff AND actually delivering. I consider all Grip albums to be (notably) superior musically to any post 1990 Slayer album. 

Gus Chambers has a nice, powerful voice. Didn't know his work from before but I love his powerful deliverance of lyrics in Grip. Very saddened by his death. Especially, since it meant the end of Grip.

Now, the music. In the debut, they presented a fresh dose of modern metal, which drew influences from the two core members' past (ie thrash) with a modern, perhaps more minimal touch in the riffing. The sound they established (esp. the guitar/riff sound with the Lombardo signature drum sound) was totally characteristic and stayed with them for the rest of their albums. 

Hostage to Heaven was a huge hit when it came out. Basically, Dave Lombardo steals the show, he fucking rips on that one. A thrash classic which really Slayer never matched. That's the most Slayer-ish song of the album. And probably the best. The other hit was Ostracized, a groovy heavy number. I find Monster Among Us a killer song as well, and very Grip-ish!

Nemesis is my favourite album of Grip. They continue with the same direction but this time around I find they really got their songwriting down. Rusty Nail is a fucking huge song. I think it must be their most famous song as well. Other monsters on the album include the opener Pathetic Liar, the obligatory Slayer-ish War Between One and my personal fave Scream at the Sky.

I would also like to note that although the band did not have a huge success commercially (afaik), Lombardo's high profile did not go unnoticed. I would be willing to bet that many modern (and hugely successful) bands draw influence from them. I am specifically thinking of System of a Down as the most prominent example (I do hear stuff from Grip in their music).

Then we have Solidify, which I won't elaborate more on because time is pressing and I do want to talk about Incorporated... Great album, this is where they really begun to experiment more with their songwriting. Fans of weird prog experimenting will appreciate tracks like Bug Juice for example. Among Grip fans, it has its sworn worshippers abd I think it's just a case of which album you listened to first (it was Nemesis for me). But on to Incorporated...

...which I easily place among the top-10 best metal albums of the 00s. That good. 

First, it is a metal offering that is oozing HEALTH, freshness, character, a voice of its own. Second, the songwriting again is magnificent. I would recommend listening to Prophecy, that showcases the band's mix of that fresh metal sound, with some electronic/industrial ambience and more melody than usual. Loads of energy, a perfect example of what I'm talking about.

Another example of their awesome sound. (Built to) Resist.  Fantastic song. Melodic and heavy, a gothic feel that still has balls, if that makes sense.

In this album, you get all the stuff Grip was known for. Their signature sound, richer songwriting, which I guess features the "prog" elements some have mentioned in the form of throwing interesting shit in the mix, like the industrial elements I talked about, flamenco guitars, the cello stuff with the guy from Apocalyptica helping and more.

I consider the band to be criminally underrated and I would be willing to bet that as time goes by they will be getting the appreciation they deserve. It is VERY frustrating to hear that they are a Slayer kind of band. The music in their albums is WAY more innovative than Slayer have been in the past 21 years. Do check them out and decide for yourself.

The youtube clips:

Sorry for the long post. I just LOVE Grip (as if you can't tell) and I want to spread the word!

Well, I wouldn't really call them a thrash metal band. They have too much stuff going on to be called a thrash metal band really. They certainly have a few thrash metal songs (Hostage to Heaven and War Between One being the most obvious) but overall, they are much more. 

This band needs MORE fans!