Ed Gein

Judas Goats & Dieseleaters (2005)

Bryan

Ed Gein's second full-length, Judas Goats & Dieseleaters, was the first album that I listened to that could be classified as grind. While I know it's fairly new, I still have to give it props for introducing me into the grind genre. The thing about grind is a majority of the listeners will hear nothing but deep-throated growls and high-pitched shrieks and label it off as screaming for the sake of screaming. The saddest part about that is that some of the bands in this genre are pretty talented, while others, like Watchmaker, throw their songs together and write them inside the studio. Thankfully, Ed Gein stays on the talented side and doesn't just use hundreds of tempo changes each song to classify as being technical.

Judas Goats & Dieseleaters is surprisingly filled with a lot of depth for an album in the grind genre. While listening to the album, it at first seems to be one variation of the same exact song, but upon closer inspection, each song is loaded with tons of unique riffs and at least keep it interesting. Tracks like "Killing the Co-Worker" and "We're Drowning in It" slow it down and mix elements of metalcore with grind and tons of chaotic riffs over an abundance of shouting. Then on songs like "Bastard" and "Amen," Ed Gein blazes through with the distorted guitars, blast beats, and pure shouting that makes a grind band what they are.

Ed Gein is simply one of the better listens that I've been recently craving. Its variety of tempos and structures allow for an easy-to-swallow grind experience that still retains all the distorted guitars, fast drumming, and shouting that is expected in this genre. The only fault with Ed Gein is that, being a grind band, unless you thoroughly inspect the songs, they still manage to blend into each other too much, even when a healthy dose of variety is used.