Band:	Grind
Album:	Grace And Misery
Style:	Deathgrind, Grindcore, Post-metal
Release date:	April 12, 2024
A review by:	musclassia

01. Funktion Und Begriff
02. Gaia
03. Leviathan
04. My Eyes Closed
05. Drown
06. Manifold
07. Hysteria
08. Freedom Of People
09. I Am Demon
10. New Approach
11. Infinite Nothing
12. Shin Und Bedeutung
13. Bones Of Utopia

Following the success of post-metal, post-hardcore, post-black metal, progressive post-metal and more, it was only a matter of time before more metal genres started trying to ‘post’ things up; however, grindcore may not have been the most obvious candidate.

‘Post-grindcore’ isn’t a frequently used tag on Bandcamp; curiously enough, though, one of the albums to actually use it, Calico Dreams by Sugar Wounds, is probably the one album I could think of to which it might conceivably apply. Outside of Calico Dreams, there are but a handful of bands making use of the term, including the violently blackened Calligram and German quintet Grind. This band’s debut album Songs Of Blood And Liberation was a grindcore record with some ambition in its songwriting, but Grace And Misery is a whole different kettle of fish.

Considering their name, there’s less grindcore in Grind’s new album than you might expect, and the form it takes is arguably more of a deathgrind variety. Nevertheless, there is a venom and belligerence to the frenetic assaults on songs such as “Gaia” and “My Eyes Closed” that will appeal to those that enjoy grindcore that strives to be multidimensional. There are full-pelt barrages within the songs, but the former alternates vocal styles and tempos in a manner reminiscent of mid-era Cattle Decapitation, while both songs contain moments where the guitars, even while rocketing forwards, bring in hints of levity and atmosphere.

This pretty much sets the tone for the album as a whole; only the shortest track on Grace And Misery, “I Am Demon”, really maintains a pure grindcore/hardcore style throughout. Even relatively compact songs such as “Drown” and “Hysteria” manage to weave aspiration of grandeur into their songwriting, trading off flat-out aggression with slower, more contemplative passages. The same isn’t necessarily applicable to the likes of “Freedom Of People” and “Infinite Nothing”, but they have their own novelties, whether it be the guitar solo and groovy death elements of the former, or the mathcore jankiness within the latter. The extremity on Grace And Misery also isn’t confined to grindcore, as “New Approach” owes more to death and groove metal.

On top of all that, you have Grind’s really ambitious experimentations on this album, which can be heard right from the off with the delicate post-rock/ambient opener “Funktion Und Begriff”, whose sensibilities are expanded upon near the end of the record during “Sinn Und Bedeutung”. Finally, there are 3 songs here that run beyond 5 minutes, and they each betray clear post-metal influences on Grind’s songwriting. “Leviathan”, “Manifold” and “Bones Of Utopia” all feature extreme metal portions (although the opening of “Leviathan” is more recognizable as Gothenburg melodeath than grindcore), but each of them finds their own way to delve into more complex, dynamic and expansive soundscapes, whether it be the melancholic, tremolo-dominated climax of “Manifold” or the brooding depth of “Bones Of Utopia”.

As an enjoyer of post-metal, and also an appreciator of grindcore that pushes the envelope, Grace And Misery plays right into my tastes. One could perhaps argue that there’s still a bit of segregation between the grindcore songs and the post-metal songs, but I’m pleasantly surprised with how much they manage to establish some common ground on the track “Hysteria” in particular, and it leaves me with confidence that Grind may deliver an even more seamless and unique fusion of their various influences on future efforts. In any case, while they’re by no means solely confined to the genre, Grind are a breath of fresh air for grindcore, a genre that is managing to thrive in recent years due to similarly ambitious artists.