NASUM — Inhale/Exhale (review)

NASUM — Inhale/Exhale album cover Album · 1998 · Grindcore Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
Unitron
Nasum-Inhale/Exhale

'Inhale/Exhale' is the debut studio album by Grindcore band Nasum. Previously Grindcore didn't appeal to me, I found some of the album covers and band names kind of disgusting. While I know it isn't fair to judge a band by their album covers or band name, I have to say ugly album art or a disgusting name isn't going to help people give your music a listen. I decided to give Grindcore a chance with a band that had a really cool album cover for their debut, Nasum.

This is fast, and I mean fast. Each very short song is full of relentless barrages of double-bass, crushing guitar riffs, and bursts of death growls and screams from the two members. While most of the time it's really fast, some songs like 'The Masked Face', feature driving guitar grooves at times which I find to be a nice contrast with the fast and aggressive speed of the rest of the songs. Another example of this nice contrast is the only 18-second 'Digging In', which switches from chaotic thrashing to quick groove parts about three times. This speed/groove contrast is actually played out throughout the album, many songs feature this, such as one of my favorites, 'When Science Fails'. The title track is one of my favorites, having slower crunching guitar instead of the speed of most songs. 'Shapeshifter' is another more thrash-based track.

Noise is also an element in the sound of this album, songs like 'I See Lies' have screeching and/or droning playing under the chugging guitar. It almost adds something mechanical to the music. Anders Jakobson's drums also add in this sound, maybe because of the extreme speed. The finale, 'Can De Lach', which happens to be the longest song on the album begins with screeching noise. Soon, the fast guitar and drums come in. While there is a whopping 38 tracks on the album, and it may seem overwhelming, the tracks are short but strong. It's quite amazing how such short songs can seem longer, yet the album finishes quickly. The songs feel like they're set up for a longer song length, yet pack everything in a 1-3 or less minute long song.

Overall, I highly recommend this to anyone wanting to give Grindcore a try, and I think it's an essential release for any Grind fan. Hope you found this review helpful. Feel free to comment!
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