Combatwoundedveteran - I Know a Girl Who Develops Crime Scene Photos (1999)^{Release ID: 15774}

Uniting a more Punk-influenced sound of manic Screamo and Powerviolence with relentless assault of Grindcore, Combatwoundedveteran were one of the first bands in the heavier, noisier flavor of Emoviolence.

The album is 19 minutes of noisy, chaotic, manic aural violation. For most of it… the dense layers of noise, feedback and blast beats renders much of the actual music nil. Riffs, guitar leads, and chord progressions are either totally buried or totally absent; I have no clue. Vocals are similarly indiscernible nonsense, doing nothing but adding another layer of noise to the mix.

For the most part, an unpleasant mess, but there are some aspects I will praise. First, the production, as noisy and lo-fi it may be, does a great job of condensing these layers of noise into something that somehow sounds quite listenable. Honestly, I can’t put my finger on it, but the way these dense tracks are mixed meets a great middle ground between that lo-fi, purposefully noisy production and something… smooth?

Next, the lyrics are quite interesting and entertaining, uniquely written. The concepts range from funny but clever sarcasm to deadly serious misanthropy. Unfortunately, this strength is aborted by the absolutely indiscernible vocals which completely negate the purpose of the good lyrics.

The last point I will praise is “Folded Space: Lead Poisoning & Distortion.” By far one of the most unique songs I’ve heard in this style, the vocals are spoken word poetry, which allows those great lyrics to actually shine; the music similarly works to build a bit of atmosphere instead of pointlessly banging as hard as possible like in the other tracks. In every way, it’s the best track on the album, and I’d love to hear more music like it.

Overall… Not for me. But definitely not without value. Unique, and with potential.