CD review GRINDPAD 'Violence'

It’s new to me that Utrecht is a part of the Bay Area. Of course it’s not. The Dutch city is still in the center of The Netherlands but listening to a band, calling Utrecht their home, brings you musically very close to the San Francisco’s Bay area.

Grindpad, by the way the Dutch expression for ‘gravel path’, was formed in 2006. over time the quintet several EP’s as self-releases. Having inked a deal with Iron Shield Records allowed the guys to finally work on their full-length debut.

First thing that you notice is the similarity of the artwork between debut and latest EP. The ‘Violence’ packaging look very much like the one from the ‘Sharkbite!’ EP while there isn’t an overlap when it comes to songs. The music though stays as aggressive as on the earlier records.

Grindpad is into Thrash Metal and I mentioned already the Bay Area. and groups like Exodus, Testament and the early Metallica are for sure the biggest influencing factors for this five-piece band. ‘Violence’ pushes the pedal to metal and there aren’t any moments to take a deep breathe. It’s a like you’re caught in a musical tornado for 42 minutes before the final note of ‘To Those About to Die (20/20) spits you out into reality again.

‘Violence’ is raw and unpolished. It’s dirty Thrash Metal the way it was invented by the mentioned genre pioneers. Grindpad belongs to the next generation of Thrash metal bands and what they offer with ‘Violence’ is stunningly good.