Grindcore and Napalm Death are as synonymous as Indie-Rock geeks and Arcade Fire.  So when it was announced that Napalm Death’s longstanding bassist, Shane Embury (he would be playing guitar for this project) was enlisting his band mate Danny Herrera (drums) along with Brutal Truth’s Kevin Sharp (vocals) and Danny Lilker (bass) to record a new album under the name Venomous Concept, Grindcore fans just about lost their minds in anticipation!  A few seconds into Poisoned Apple, their second album, first without Buzz Osbourne of The Melvins, and it’s clear that isn’t going to be some kind of foray into ambience like many of their counterparts take.  Make no mistake, this is collection is as ugly as it gets.

Reference points can be traced back to Discharge, Lärm and the ferocity of Japanese speed terrorists, S.O.B.  Sharp’s vocals haven’t sounded this acidic since Brutal Truth’s early material.  His buzz saw-like delivery on tracks like “Water Cooler” and “Life” is textbook Grind but it’s so powerful that it’s hard to imagine anything else replacing it.  Danny Herrera’s blast beats cut through Embury’s riff blitzkrieg with precision and Lilker’s fuzzed-out bass was tailor-made for this kind of stuff.  With the participants here, it’s no surprise that Poisoned Apple succeeds but the level of quality it reaches might take some by surprise.

Rating: 8/10
Label: Century Media Records
Website: www.centurymedia.com/us/

source: smnnews