Extreme Noise Terror
Retro-Bution

THE REVIEW

Extreme Noise Terror, as everyone knows, have been one of the most important bands in the crust-core/grind field, although they've always been overshadowed by more famous groups such as Napalm Death, Carcass, or the immense Brutal Truth. The group, led by Dean Jones, was formed in January of the distant 1985 when they released their first CD, "Radioactive," which soon became a symbol of "Chaos U.K. crust-core." From there, a series of works developed, including "Phonophobia," "Retro-Bution," and "Damage 381," culminating in "Being And Nothing" in 2001, undoubtedly the heaviest and most grind-oriented album of the band.

But let's get to this "Retro-Bution," released in 1995, which also brought a change in the lineup, with the addition of a second guitarist. It's quite a heavy album, with fast, short, sincere songs marked by a raw and incredibly wild style. Of course, in a crust-core record, you can't talk about the technical level of the members; here, what matters most is the message of the lyrics, politically committed and never trivial, ranging from the dreariness of life ("Conned Through Life") to racism ("Human Error"), from too many animal killings ("Murder") to Third World problems ("Third World Genocide"). It is obvious, then, that it's all a matter of expressiveness and style, which will probably make the more refined tastes turn up their noses, but it's also true that the social distress represented by the lyrics does not need to be elegant and refined. Despite this, all the songs have a nice melodic feel that engages throughout the 14 tracks of the album: tracks like "Raping The Earth," "Bullshit Propaganda," "Lame Brain," and "Murder" have become band classics. The best song is probably "Subliminal," the longest on the CD (4:14 minutes), alternating very fast parts with slightly slower ones, ending with a nice distorted guitar effect in the last 14 seconds. The tracks are generally very short, around 1-2 minutes long, for a total duration of a mere half hour. The only flaw of "Retro-Bution" is that there is not a great variety in the compositions (except "Subliminal"), which can make the work a bit repetitive but certainly does not reduce its value.

In conclusion, "Retro-Bution" is a great album and especially fundamental for the group, which will achieve major stylistic maturation with "Damage 381" and the great "Being And Nothing."