Solo industrial/electronic/metal artist Kubine has teamed up with noisegrind merchants Holy Grinder. Those that have been reading Metal Injection for some time will recognize the Holy Grinder name. The Toronto, Ontario unit has been unleashing heavy, screeching noisegrind since 2016 and has done splits with bands like Christen Lovers, Domesticated, Sete Star Sept, among others. Kubine hails out of Yokohama, Japan and used to be the vocalist for Self Destruction. And both of these artists are ready to unleash hellfire.
Over five tracks and eleven minutes, Kubine and Holy Grinder deliver in exactly the way one would expect: destructive, harsh, noisy. Opening with “Die Miserable”, a jangle of noise and thick bass swings in with Kubine delivering equally harsh and confrontational vocals. It is a thick track that quickly transitions into “Wasting My Time” and a quick trend is noticeable. Each track is glued together with the flickering, popping, sheet metal quality of the noise. It bubbles up and fizzles throughout. Meanwhile, Holy Grinder and Kubine blast over it with raw intensity and heaviness. “Black Stain Of My Life” and “Spreading Lies” are particularly hard-hitting tracks, with Kubine’s vocals hitting like a drill press to the forehead. The collaboration ends with “Terrible Lie,” a track that is noisy and plenty blasting but also a little doomy. Some slower bass sections break things up and even add a little bit of a funk feel at times. Just a little bit.
The one Bandcamp comment for this release I think hits the nail on the head. I, too, wish there was more to this record, but we’ll take what we can get. This collaboration is exhaustive, intense, heavy, and noisy from start to finish. The Holy Grinder + Kubine is out now and released by Damien Records. You can pick up a digital or physical copy here.
