This Oslo based Norwegian GrindCore act was founded in September 2010 by Insense guitarists Martin Rygge and Tommy Hjelm (both also taking care of backing vocals), alongside drummer Christian “Bartender” Svendsen (known from Tjuder, The Cumshots, Grimfist, and Gothminister). Bassist Mika Martinussen and singer Anders Bakke (renowned in the Norwegian Metal community for having fronted She Said Destroy) later completed the line-up.
The quintet swiftly made a name for itself in the local scene with its compellingly melodic music (which one would not expect from a Grindcore act, eh?), and over a weekend, recorded the music for their debut album Xes And Strokes in their own rehearsal room, adding vocals later. The album was released (through Mas-Kina) late September of 2011, and gained the band notoriety on an international level overnight, with raving reviews coming in from even leading European Metal magazines. The quintet (some of the members obviously were also active with their respective bands, you know) then did some shows to promote their album and, recording one particular evening at Oslo's Rockefeller venue, came along with the DVD At Rockefeller in late October 2012 (again released through Mas-Kina). Meanwhile, new music was being made and, over six days' time (somewhere earlier this year) the band recorded (again in their own rehearsal place) the 12 tracks now made available through the sophomore album Dödsfest.
According to the info sheet which came along with the promo download of the album, (it) “...follows the same formula established with their debut : brutally intense, insanely fast and punishingly loud Grindcore, genuinly and 100% recorded live...” (um, actually, the music isn't just about speed, as there's quite some calmer passages in between; in fact, it's that variety in velocities which make the whole that much more effectively aggressive) ”...yet, the Norwegians actually manage to step up their explosive and innovative cacaphony, sounding more inventive, more furious and downright incomparable...” (what! cacaphony? this band's music is on the contrary, very much structured, indeed!) ”...its 12 songs weave a twisted blend of quirky, but captivating melodies with some abrasive and cranium-splitting brutality that truly sounds like no one else...”...hey, I sure second that statement, by all means, even though I'm probably not the first to do so! I mean, not only is the music itself quite clearly discernable, but so are the vocals (screams/ screeches coming mostly from the lead singer, with growls and shouted screams coming from the guitarists) are real clear (not clean), and lyrically understandable...something we're not always used to from GrindCore bands, you know...and the band must therefore have a pretty nifty recording facility in their rehearsal room!
Anyway, check out the “Band Profile” section at (www.) facebook.com/beatentodeath, and convince yourselves of the band's qualities by listening to the music and viewing the videos available! Hurry to get a copy of the limited edition 12-inch vinyl album (19 minutes pressed on side B) or, if you're not into all that, get the download from iTunes (where you can also listen to 30-second samples of all album songs...or, so you should be able to, normally!). Meanwhile, let's nominate Dödsfest into our 2013 year-lists, shall we!?