Phobia - Unrelenting EP

17 songs in fewer than 15 minutes?  California’s punky Grindcore stalwarts Phobia aren’t joking around on Unrelenting.  In fact, it’s the perfect title for the album as it sums up not only their music, but their work ethic.  Phobia has been hard at work for years releasing and endless tide of full-lengths, EPs and splits.  They don’t compromise and they don’t ever slow down.

“T.R.O.G.” starts Unrelenting with a slow groove and some Kerry King-styled fret noodling before detonating into “Rehashed.” Vocalist Shane McLachlan barks and screeches the lyrics while the band shifts tempos and somehow finds a few seconds to rip out a solo.  “You Get No Remorse” blasts by while “Enemy Within” is 1:10 seconds of grinding chaos. “Revolt Your Life” has a great intro riff that unfortunately is abandoned too soon and the song turns into a blur but “Tradition of Power” makes for barely a minute of pure classic Grindcore. “Soon” will bring back memories of Napalm Death’s “You Suffer” while the opening shriek of “Mental State” could shatter glass.  “Life’s Animosity” benefits from being a longer, more well structured and varied song and the grinding chaos of “Dying For Who?” makes for the best 58 seconds of the album.  “Nothing Matters” is built on a nice rumbling groove and “Killing Time” unloads the album’s greatest groove in the middle of some of serious chaos.  Unrelenting brilliantly closes with the nice middle finger march of “If You Used To Be Punk, Then You Never Were.”

If you like Phobia, you know what you are getting into on Unrelenting. It keeps up the momentum from Cruel and 22 Random Acts of Violence.  Unfortunately, the album is an EP and some of the few second long songs are throwaways.  But Unrelenting will effectively pulp your skull and stomp on your guts until the next Phobia release, which should be before the beginning of autumn at their current pace.  Recommended for fans of early Pig Destroyer, Nasum and Agoraphobic Nosebleed.

Release Date: November 23, 2010
Label: Relapse Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  T.R.O.G.
2.  Rehashed
3.  You Get No Remorse
4.  Enemy Within
5.  Revolt Your Life
6.  Tradition of Power
7.  Sign of Times
8.  Out of Control
9.  Soon
10.  Mental State
11.  Life’s Animosity
12.  Dying For Who?
13.  Total Kollapse
14.  Strive Conception
15.  Nothing Matters
16.  Killing Time
17.  If You Used To Be Punk,
       Then You Never Were


Total playing time:  14:26

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Reviewer: Rottenbucher

January 29, 2011