It may seem like 2018 was about two decades ago, and you would be forgiven for doubling, even tripling down on that. Mentally, it was, but the keepers of the clock would have us believe that it has only been a quarter of that since Scottish powerviolence/grinders Endless Swarm last dished up a furious full-length.
Those with their knees deep in grind and powerviolence will recognize the Endless Swarm moniker. They have done splits with the mighty Gets Worse, Brainshit, and Concussive, among others, and more recently with Japanese legends Fuck On The Beach, as well as Faršas. However, after three years of silence, it seems the Edinburgh four-piece is back and ready to unleash more havoc with their latest LP Manifested Forms.
Endless Swarm, like a lot of other bands who share the space, thrive on chaos. A lot of what makes a powerviolence/grind record work or stand out is the back-breaking work that goes into harnessing that chaos. Endless Swarm firmly have their claws locked into the throes of chaos, and they aren’t afraid to its weight around like a professional wrestling event. And this is evident on the very opening track “Disengaged.” A noisy, grinding, jagged slam fest that sounds like a Frankenstein fusion of bands like Spazz and Uzi Suicide with the sporadic attack of Sex Prisoner. Meaning, all’s well, Endless Swarm is back in full force.
The tracks whizz by, something that grindcore and powerviolence listeners are already accustomed to. All hail an album with 47 songs and a 16-minute run time. Though Manifested Forms is no Death to Capitalist Hardcore, its spirit is not far divorced. The album isn’t devoid of downtime it just doesn’t leave much room for it. The title track tips its hat to it with a few slower more hardcore/punk sections and even ends on a slow fade out that lasts all of around… seven seconds? Roughly that, and then it is back to the grind. “Parasitic Coloniser” likewise has a slower intro before the band gets back to the blasts.
Endless Swarm mostly bounces between a very hardcore punk approach and some very old-school grindcore sensibilities. In fact, the band do not often return to riffs, choosing rather to go full-steam ahead. Once a section is done, there is seldom circling back around. Much like the style of Sex Prisoner’s writing, giving an extra jagged edge to a lot of the tracks. This is a classic powerviolence structure. Songs like “Circling Self” switch up riff after riff after riff enough to make heads spin and eyes roll back, once again demonstrating the glory of the genre’s chaos.
All of this considered, this is an album for people who want a lean, slick slice of grinding powerviolence. Clocking in at 20 minutes, the tracks fly by one after the other. Could it pull other people into the grindcore and powerviolence subgenres, that is up to people willing to give albums like this a go. I encourage any curious people to hunt this down and give it a shot. Albums like Manifested Forms aren’t going to get any new listeners through trepidation.
Those already familiar with either these sounds or Endless Swarm themselves, this will hit that sweet spot. Endless Swarm have had consistently tight writing throughout their discography, and this is their best material yet. Start to finish Manifested Forms is chaos morphing into chaos morphing into more chaos. If you have been looking for some furious new blasts you have found them: jagged, gnarly, fast, and raw.
Manifested Forms is out digitally now on Bandcamp.
Vinyl LP through To Live A Lie Records (USA) and Coxinha Records (EU) this July.
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