SCUMRAID

Rip Up [7-inch] (2015)

Keenan

I know, I know, another day, yet another review of an extreme South Korean thrash record with abrasive noise tendencies. Despite the over familiarity you no doubt feel right now, let's just try to plow through this, alright?

SCUMRAID are a band from Seoul that have a couple of EPs under their belt. On Rip Up they combine a little bit of d-beat, some thrash, hardcore and a healthy dose of straight up noise to create the impression that everything is crashing down around you. It's obvious that the band likes to keep you on your toes, with songs like "Chattering Teeth" sneaking in some surf rock influence and "Chronic Isolation" sporting a drum beat implying a slow build before dropping the facade and abruptly destroying your eardrums. "Sibal Ggondae Saekki" offers some respite from the madness, with the band locking into a groove for a couple of seconds before letting chaos reign yet again.

The production on this EP is definitely lacking, to the point of being distracting at times. Lo-fi recordings are certainly nothing new to extreme music, but here the guitar sounds more like controlled static rather than an actual instrument. The vocals add to the clamor, but not much else. The rhythm section does most of the heavy lifting here, simultaneously creating something to latch onto and surprising you with shifting dynamics.

It seems preposterous to spend too much time speaking about a five-minute EP readily available to stream. Ninety seconds into this EP, you'll know whether this is for you or not.