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innerspaceboy · 03-03-2017, 04:19 PM

ISB's review of O.L.D. - Old Lady Drivers

The ever-shifting musical elements and melodic to atonal transitions certainly made for an intriguing listening experience. As this was my first introduction to grindcore, I was amused by the frantic jumps between thrash, hardcore punk, crust, noise, and even a few tiny nods to prog rock riffs.

The cheeseball factor of the record definitely kept me listening. Upsampled voices, monstrous barking, juxtaposed tempos and cartoonish collisions of meter and melody… all together it sounds like they had some serious fun making the record.

But I kept wondering to myself… are these guys the Bloodhound Gang of grindcore? Or is all grindcore like this? The structures were smart and quick-witted, but the humor and subject matter seemed to wallow in the bottom of the cultural barrel where I’d expect to find other useless and interminably-adolescent bands like those of nu/rap metal or the grotesque and offensive-for-the-sake-of-offensive college frat tunes of the aforementioned BHG.

Still, the subject matter of O.L.D. seemed a bit more carefree and less contrived than the Limp Bizkit filth I’ve worked so hard to avoid. I likely just need to experience more metal to develop a more cohesive understanding of its various incarnations. At the very least, there is a compositional and instrumental proficiency here which is entirely devoid from lesser acts like the nu/rap metal genres. (Please tell me those don’t exist anymore?)

By the middle of the record, I was surprised to find the band settling into more standardized structures and longer-than-a-minute tracks. The “Cocaine” cover was entertaining and unexpected. “Colostomy Grab Bag” was surprisingly melodic, even with the down-tuned guitars, and I quickly sank into its little groove. “Feeding the Worms” was straightforward enough and surprised me yet again with its sudden smooth transition to “Old Ladies…”

The punk-spirited closer, "Screaming Geezer" was a fun way to end the record. And while it is not something I would pull off the shelf with any frequency, this was still an eye-opener, which is precisely why I joined this review thread.