Extreme Noise Terror
A Holocaust in Your Head!

THE REVIEW

Fascinating people, the English. If you look around in London, you see them passing by silently, quietly, respectfully. The people of tea at five, the people well-mannered by definition. The "English self-control." Evidently, however, beneath these appearances, their blood also boils. Repressed, that's what they are. And so it's natural that every now and then they lose their savoir-faire and become, for example, the first people to execute their own sovereign (Charles I) during a revolution. Or, if you prefer, the ones who pulled "crust punk" out of the hat, born in the early eighties from the fusion of hardcore punk and extreme metal. This musical genre will lead to Grindcore, which is a further extremization. Among the fundamental bands that made this transition possible, the Extreme Noise Terror should be noted, who with "A Holocaust In Your Head" (1989) created an emblematic album of their subgenre: "crustgrind."

If you're expecting virtuosities or masturbation solos, don't listen to this work: what will hit you is a pure and wild concentration of sonic violence. The two ENT singers, Phil Vane and Dean Jones, brilliantly share the stage, alternating harrowing screams with furious growls. In short, one goes "AAAAH!", the other goes "UUURGH!". The production is certainly not high-level, which is actually a good thing, as it gives the album that extra touch of rawness, amplifying the guitars frightfully and muffling the drums, which alternate the techniques of the Blast Beat and the D-beat.

Naturally, "A Holocaust In Your Head" has some flaws. First of all, it's a product aimed at genre enthusiasts: except for a few moments (the bass intro to "Bullshit Propaganda," the devastating riffs that overshadow the spoken sample in "Murder"), the album's sound remains constant, and to a listener not accustomed to crust, the tracks might seem "all the same." Furthermore, many will wrinkle their noses at the last song, "If You're Only In It For The Music," a true swipe at "Milk" by the Stormtroopers Of Death (also echoing its intro).

In conclusion? A rough and exaggerated album. And a work to listen to, both for those interested in the dawn of Grindcore and for those who simply want to have their ears raped with pleasure.