It’s Monday and Mondays suck, so let’s grind it out with Ground’s Mourn Innocence.
Maybe this Monday some of you are really feeling it. Like, it’s summer and there’s just about anything better to do than show up for a day job. One could make a case for bills I suppose. But when the collector comes around you can always throw on some of Ground’s Mourn Innocence and make them think twice about what they’re gonna do on your turf. I suppose things don’t have to go that far. This new Ground album is rough enough to pound through this Monday with relentless grinding fervor.
New Jersey’s Ground (formed in 2012) has been laying the beatdown since their 2013 demo. A whole lot of hardcore, a whole lot of powerviolence, a whole lot of grindcore and a mad splash of death metal make them a massive stand out in the grind genre. If you haven’t heard of them, well, it has been three years since Squalor with only a split with Toxicology, Skuz, and Tripple Cripple. However, it’s 2019 and I’m behind on this release. So, let’s get into it!
Mourn Innocence starts out as a heavy hardcore record with “Compassion Fatigue.” The kind of thing that’s almost as anvil dropping as Friendship’s Hatred. The track wastes no time slamming into motion and steamrolling in pure hardcore/punk fashion. It breaks down here and there with a nice powerviolence vibe that’s also got a death metal tinge. The track spins around into grindcore before going out on a beatdown breakdown.
There’s something to be said about how good Ground is at merging genres. They both transform their songs from at once pure hardcore, then to something relentlessly grinding or thrashy. And it doesn’t sound like the band is just mashing together these things and hoping they work. Sometimes it’s a little extra guitar work that gives the flair. A pinch harmonic here, or a dash of thrash there. Sometimes they jump headfirst into something, but every time it works. Tracks like “Gridlocked” are meat grinders—almost pure grindcore. Others like “Plausible Deniability” let loose with everything under the sun.
Hardcore/punk tendencies tie the band together. And Ground has no shyness about letting their love to bands like Spazz or Infest show. Especially Spazz. But when all’s said and done and Mourn Innocence has come to a close, Ground has crafted a damn fine piece of grinding hardcore powerviolence. The band has really stepped up their game since Squalor. Ground is a band you shouldn’t be sleeping on right now. Mourn Innocence is one of the most fun, merciless records to come out in recent memory. Mosh and grind your fuckin’ head in.
