World Extermination

Album review

Originally released independently in 2007, Insect Warfare's first "full-length" album, World Extermination, caused such a stir among well-informed grindcore specialists that it was soon snapped up and reissued by genre granddaddies Earache the following year, thereby exposing it to a far broader worldwide audience. And why not? Like all of the best grindcore, Insect Warfare's 20-songs-in-22-minutes "gnat attack" assails the listener with unrelenting fury, speed, and concision -- obliterating mainstream music conventions, eardrums, and, quite possibly, a few city blocks in the time it would take most bands to get to their first verse. However, enthusiasts of the genre will never cease telling the misinformed that even these micro-blasts contain innumerable contrasting riffs, thought-provoking ideas, variations on speed-of-sound velocities, and sophisticated arrangements to tie them all together -- particularly on multifaceted standouts like "Manipulator," "Human Trafficking," and "Mass Communication Mindf**k." Additional noteworthy sound jabs like "Decontamination" and "Hydraphobia" even slow down their usual maelstroms long enough to include moderately paced passages, which may actually sound acceptable to "normal" humans. "Normal" has never been a priority for grindcore bands or their fans, though, so suffice to say that World Extermination easily substantiates Insect Warfare's growing reputation.
© Eduardo Rivadavia /TiVo