With 14 songs over 12 minutes, this one was over before I got back to my desk. Say Goodbye, the latest offering from Assholeparade, serves to hold fans over until they get their hands on a new full-length set for release this Fall.

Recorded with different lineups between 1997-1998, Say Goodbye hardly sounds as dated as it could have. Their brand of brutally fast, hard, grind/hardcore comes off surprisingly polished, which can probably be attributed to Rob McGregor's production role. Drummer Jon W. comes off as the standout musician on the record, which showcases how tight and fast he's able to play. That said, this music isn't exactly the most accessible on the market. Fans of Assholeparade's previous work or others like them will love Say Goodbye, but it's hard to see them winning over a lot of new fans with this release. Then again, accessibility is no way to judge the quality of a record. Assholeparade may not be for everyone, and is certainly an acquired taste, but what they do, they do really well.

Another aspect of the record that makes one think it may have been recorded later than it was is the anti-war sentiment of the tracks "Soldiers" and "Soldiers II," both of which could be applied as commentary on America's current war in Iraq. Lines such as "Another life is gone / And we'll win this war with tearless eyes / Where the survivors envy the dead" from "Soldiers," or "The stench is ripe and teenage kids are forced to fight / names are written and stitched to backs because you won't recognize their faces after the enemy fucking attacks / In human trenches plagued with flies / You tell your friends your last goodbyes / The army is crippled as it digs in for death / The government wins / But the soldier is fucking dead" from "Soldiers II" are great reminders that important and thoughtful messages can still come out of music that on the surface is ridiculously aggressive.