I had never heard of Rumpelstiltskin Grinder and knew
nothing about them before listening to this release.
Rumpelstiltskin Grinder is opening for Cephalic
Carnage on their current tour, so I decided to look
them up and give them a listen. I was expecting
something grindcore like. Maybe the more noisy type
like Corn On Macabre, with the goofy name and song
titles. Well, this is nothing like what I expected at
all, so it was a bit of a shock the first time I
listened to them. Rumpelstiltskin Grinder is pure old
school hardcore/thrash!
The guitars have that great old school sound and feel.
Like mid era Exodus. The solos are of that soaring
out of nowhere style. You can’t help but bang your
head a bit. The vocals are a good clean rasp, no
death grunts or black screams. I was pleasantly
surprised by this sound. It’s great to hear a new
band bringing back such a classic sound, the San
Francisco thrash bands were great fun to jam in the
old days. RG manage to get some great head banging,
foot stomping mosh parts going as well as some sing
along chorus parts complete with gang chants.
The production is great. They spent a fair amount of
money to ensure that these songs didn’t sound like
they were recorded in a bathroom or in a cardboard
box. I’d like to thank them (and Relapse) for that.
The lyrics don’t take themselves too seriously and the
musicians all hold their own. I like the riffs and
the solos. This release is far from being boring,
that is for sure. It’s nice to hear a new band that
isn’t afraid to just have fun with them selves. I
hope this is a new trend. No we are “so evil”
posturing or anything.
My only real complaint is that it’s only 8 songs and
34 minutes long. To me, that is an EP. Of course, it
only costs $12.00.
Overall, the songs are memorable; the production is
great, they have a sense of humor. I look forward to
seeing them play live and will drink many a Guinness
in their honor and buy some merchandise. So, go buy
it, go see them live, enjoy.
