Kill the client originally formed in 2002, and was met with open arms by the Grindcore audience. It seemed that, as time went by, their releases just didn't quite have the same impact as they one did, and the group started seeing mixed reactions to the material from both fans and critics. Set for Extinction marks the group's third full-length effort, following up two years after their last record Cleptocracy, which wound up not really meeting a lot of positive reaction if you happen to scout around the internet. Set for Extinction does make for an intense grinding follow-up, but it does have it's faults.
One listen to Set for Extinction is enough for the band's intensity to hit the listener rather hard. The band brings a collection of songs that are composed mostly of furious, angry blast beats with matching guitars that just sound all over the place, creating a sound that is simply chaotic for most of the time. However, one thing the band gets right is ways to vary the music through different tactics. "Questions to a Brick Wall" features some off-beat guitar work that sounds odd, but suits the chaotic nature of the album, and "Primetime Dogma" has a slowed down section towards the end that sounds as good as the intense blast beats that came before it. This track also features an audio sample that starts the song, as well as takes up a good chunk of it, of two people watching television, complaining about it, then revealing it's stolen cable from their neighbor before slamming into the Grindcore. Of course, "No Leaders" starts off with the music from an older early-Black and White era film, utilizing the music, as well as the actor's spoken word introduction to the advantage of the song. While it doesn't quite fit in with the chaotic nature of this release, it just sounds really good, and given the somewhat Death Metal approach to the music, it seems appropriate.
The problem with this recording is, while it brings in some variances to the blast beats that many Grindcore acts lack, it doesn't really do anything for the listener. Set for Extinction is a great album, no doubt about that, but the production is so muddied that, at the pace the music is being played, it simply doesn't feel like it has any real bite to it. The intensity is there, it just doesn't really have the strength to impact the listener. Aside the somewhat lower then expected production value, the Kill the Client has the instrumental distortion up rather high, which isn't a bad thing, but coupled with the production, you have to sit down and really focus on the music sometimes just to pick up on some of these musical variances and changes that make the album not sound as repetitive as many releases in it's main Grindcore genre. That, and the somewhat muffled sound of the recording leaves a little more to be desired overall.
Either way, there's still some fantastic Grindcore songs on here, and there are a few that do have a little extra kick to them that the others seem to lack. "As Roaches" is just a genuinely heavy song, and another track that features a little extra to keep the recording from sounding repetitive, and just has that little extra bite to it thanks to the choruds utilized, adding to the overall ferocious attitude. The same can be said for "Pressing the Flesh", though it doesn't really do much outside the traditional Grindcore blast beat approach. The last of this clump of tracks to stand out would be "Conflict Within", which is easily the best track off the release. This one jumps between a genuine Punk/Hardcore sound through the guitars, and just jumps right into a heavy Death Metal sound that can only be described as the band going straight for the juggular. Outside this opening cluster, the rest of the album winds up being hit or miss.
One thing this release is definitely missing, however, is the use of gutterals, since the band uses them briefly on "The Walking Dead", but only enough to practically tease the listener. But what it all comes down to is that Set for Extinction is an intense album that brings in ideas that aren't really a new concept, but derail the album from becoming repetitive. Kill the Client's follow-up full-length is well worth a look, and has some great, heavy songs that will intrigue many Metal fans and entertain them for a good while. Of course, blast beats are a cornerstone for the style, but the slower paced moments and alternating styles that hit throughout the album really make this release stand out.
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