Minderased 四種雑多 EP
Four tracks of furious, jazz-inflected mathcore from this long-running Japanese band. The vocals are earnest and shouted, with guitar riffs that range from the emoviolence of SWING KIDS or ORCHID to the extreme technicality of DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN. There are occasional layers of whooshing synth noise added with some welcome chopped glitch-string samples in the first and last tracks that add dimension to the chaos. The drumming, frenetic and mechanical, lost me a few times and sounded digital and monotonous, especially on the relentless blastbeats of the second track (“集合の理”) and the clicking double-bass kick of the fourth track, “五里夢中杖を失 くし歩く.” If MINDERASED’s drummer is indeed human, then they are insanely precise, albeit cold. Strong mix of technical proficiency and rage.