LESS LIFE — Demo 2011 (review)

Demo · 2011 · Grindcore

3.5/5 · 2011-06-25
J-Man

I had the great pleasure of seeing Less Life in a small venue earlier this month. They were the opening act, and although they were followed by three other excellent groups (Ape!, Pyramids, and Sadgiqacea), Less Life was quite possibly the most energetic of all three. George Grimaldi ran around screaming like a madman during the entire set, violently shaking the microphone in his hand as Rob Ross and Tom Schlatter delivered some of the heaviest hardcore/grindcore hybrid music I've ever heard. They were a fun act, and although Sadgiqacea may have ended up stealing the show for me, Less Life is an experience that is certainly worth seeing. But it isn't their live performance that I'm reviewing today - I'm taking a look at their sole release (at this point, at least) entitled Demo 2011. This powerful 10-minute demo is filled with some extremely brutal music that all adventurous listeners should definitely give a spin. Especially for a free (legal) download, this is a damn good recommendation.

Less Life plays a style of extremely heavy hardcore/grindcore. The band sounds a bit like Anal Cunt, with the sporadic vocal style especially hinting towards Seth Putnam (R.I.P.). Less Life also lacks a bassist, which, although not too uncommon among grind/hardcore bands, helps make their music so much more heavy and raw. This is not polished music at all, and the perfect sort of thing to experience in a venue with only about 20 people. If you like this sort of heavy music and live in the New Jersey area, I'd recommend seeing Less Life as soon as possible - these guys aren't an act to be missed. Demo 2011 is also a pretty damn enjoyable effort too. If you want a 10-minute long punch in the face, this should be thrown into your rotation every now and again. And considering the band has it offered for free download, there really is no reason not to check it out!

The musicianship is of surprisingly high quality. I really love the crazy vocals from George Grimaldi - he just sounds like an absolute madman on this demo. The frantic drumming from Tom Schlatter and Rob Ross's brutal fretwork are excellent from a technical perspective; these guys were fun to observe in a concert setting. Production-wise, the demo is extremely raw and unpolished, yet still clear and powerful. If you crank the volume up to 11, you really feel like the band is right there next to you.

Demo 2011 is a great release from Less Life that, if anything else, proves these guys should have a brilliant career ahead of them. The amount of quality and energy put into this demo release is truly admirable. 3.5 stars are well-deserved for this great offering from Less Life. I can't wait to hear more material from these guys and hopefully see them live again at some point. Any fan of super-heavy hardcore/grindcore is advised to head over to Less Life's BandCamp page and get ready for a punch in the face that will make you headbang like a madman!