Gridlink

One of the most respected bands in grindcore, Gridlink are masters of the fast, hard, precise attack that defines the genre, while adding a sense of tonal color, dynamics, and emotion that sets them apart from their peers. While originally from New Jersey, Gridlink also has ties to Japan; it's where guitarist Takafumi Matsubara calls home, and where they recorded 2014's Longhena, their third album, widely considered to be their masterpiece. Gridlink also announced that Longhena would be their final album, but after a nine-year hiatus, the group returned to cut a similarly ferocious fourth LP, 2023's Coronet Juniper. Lead singer Jon Chang formed Gridlink after the breakup of his previous band, Discordance Axis, in 2001. While they had only a small following in their native New Jersey, they found a loyal audience in Japan, and toured there several times. From his travels in Japan, Chang met guitarist Takafumi Matsubara, who had worked with the groups Mortalized and Hayaino Daisuki. Matsubara joined Chang's new group, Gridlink, in 2004, and with the addition of drummer Bryan Fajardo, they began working up material. Teaming with the American noise rock label Hydra Head, they released their debut album, Amber Gray, in 2008. It won immediate acclaim in the grindcore underground, and Gridlink expanded to a quintet with the addition of bassist Teddy Patterson and second guitarist Stephen Procopio. This edition of the group recorded their second LP, Orphan, released on Hydra Head in 2011. Orphan's title track gained a certain infamy when it was used in an episode of the Showtime series Homeland, in a scene in which it was played during a brutal interrogation of a suspected terrorist. Stephen Procopio left Gridlink in 2013, and didn't appear on their third LP, 2014's Longhena. Widely considered the band's greatest work and one of the best grindcore releases of the decade, Longhena included guest vocals from Paul Pavlovich of Assuck, but it also proved to be their last release, as Gridlink broke up shortly after its release. Years after their breakup, Willowtip Records approached Jon Chang about releasing a Gridlink remix album. As Chang and Matsubara were discussing the project, they struck upon the idea of recording some new songs to be used as bonus tracks, which led to a proper Gridlink reunion, with Bryan Fajardo back on drums and Mauro Cordoba on bass. The fourth Gridlink album, Coronet Juniper, was released in September 2023.
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