Murder Construct is a Death Metal/Grindcore act from Los Angeles, California. In a sense, this group is a collection of superstars in the Metal world. The band is comprised of various bands, in the Grind and Death scenes, including Travis Ryan of Cattle Decapitation, Leon del Muerte and Danny Walker of Exhumed (with Danny also being known for his time in Intronaut, which plays a pivotol role in some of the material), and Caleb Schneide of Bad Acid Trip, and Kevin Fetus of Watch Me Burn. Judging on the roster's currently active projects, one would picture Murder Construct to be a very impressive band. Of course, if you assumed that, then you'll be pleased to know that Murder Construct does not fail to deliver.
The band's self-titled EP debut makes for a fantastic release. Consisting of seven songs that just fall short of eighteen minutes, this release has a lot going for it thanks to solid music, lack of repetition, as well as a lack of idolworship, which is rather rampant in this style's world, as many bands compose songs close to, or carbon copied from, Napalm Death. However, each band member brings in their own take on the material of this release, and it works out to really make it stand out on it's own. Much of the album just comes off as fast paced Death Metal influences Grind, and honestly is not all that different, but that's just the start of Murder Construct. "Control" is a very strong song that just blasts away at the listener, but it has some great guitar work that doesn't just align wtih the drumming and leave it at that, and the vocals are commanding, deep, and while some gutterals happen to be used through the album, it isn't that method one hundred percent of the time, with some strong higher pitched dual vocals in the background, adding some great rhasp to it. One of the things that stands out with this release is the band's ability to weave Death Metal in seemlessly, without it being too obvious, which is mostly done through the guitars, and most noticable during certain bridges, such as the last main bridge in that track.
One of the bigger stand out elements of this album is atmosphere, which is undoubtedly incorporated thanks to Danny Walker and his time with Intronaut. As stated, the guitars don't follow the same blistering pattern as the drums, though it does happen at times. Instead, many of the tracks have guitars that flow like a traditional Death Metal song that would work with the intense speed, but often incorporate some great atmosphere to the mix, such as in "I Am That". The underlying beat of the guitarwork really creates a crushing atmosphere that goes nicely with the intense drumming, but not in the same Grindcore sense that the latter creates. The songs can also slow down, much like in "I Am That", and those moments really aid the music of the release, but are never abused. These moments offer great variety into the mix, can push for great solos, and, in the case of the Bad Acid Trip inspired solo on "I Am That", really just alter the course of the song and weave a completely different direction for the song seemlessly in without an abrupt change that makes things come off just that more chaotic. But, these random changes may sound great when utilized, though it isn't until the EP starts to come to it's end that the real atmosphere kicks in. "End of an Error" starts the more atmospheric elements of the release, as about half way in, the song takes on a slight droning aspect for a little while, which really helps push the song along nicely and allows for a seemless change in the music itself. This isn't the end, however, as "Boundless..." is an atmosphere-rich track that bleeds into a similarly atmospheric "Submission", and leaves the listener breathless, creating a whole new layer for the material for the listener to focus on, and not just straight forward grinding drum beats.
Murder Construct is one of the most impressive "Deathgrind" releases to hit store shelves in a long while. Many acts feel the need to create albums that could almost act as poor companion pieces to Napalm Death albums, but Murder Construct has created a solid, atmospheric, and highly diverse release that is one hell of an experience for just eighteen minutes. Murder Construct is a breath of needed fresh air to the Death Metal/Grindcore subgenre, and clearly will be one of the style's most important bands in the time to come. Fans of this brand of Metal have absolutely no excuse to miss such a fantastic release that lives up to the expectations of everyone familiar with each, or any, band member's work. It's fast, it's sick, it's sadistic, it's atmospheric, but most importantly it's original and addicting, which is just what we need in this idolworshipping brand of music.
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