Torture Agenda – Another Fine Day
Irreverent Buffalo grindcore favorites, Torture Agenda, have unleashed their bruising debut full-length, Another Fine Day. For the uninitiated, band members Bryan, Adria and V tangle sludge, grind, and hardcore influences together into a blood knot of raw, sonic physicality. Their brutal sound, dubbed “Rust Belt Wrath,” is confrontational and chaotic and not for the weak of heart nor hearing. Listen for Bryan’s overdrive guitar riffs quaking under Adria’s frenzied blast beats while V screams socio-conscious verses with the intensity of a rabid pitbull.
Standing at 13-tracks, 38-minutes, Another Fine Day includes abrasive new material as well as fresh recordings of oldies such as “Occupational Hazard” and “Skull Magnet.” The record opens with “Ravenous,” a foreboding ambient noise track from featured Arizona artist ScreamingLake that sets an ominous tone before kicking into high gear with the raging “Marlboro Man Smokes Turkish Royals.”
Throughout the album, Torture Agenda skillfully balances the ferocity of Pig Destroyer with the grimy swagger of New Orleans sludge metal. This is evident on the chunky and coarse “Open Heart Surgery.” One-part beefy groove metal jam, one-part hardcore punk fist fight, the song sucks you in with a catchy, morbidly-obese riff that rocks against a crackling snare and sizzling cymbals. The vibe quickly devolves into a spastic free-for-all while V conducts the mayhem with ravings of a status quo-challenging lunatic. It’s a forceful and imposing earworm and one of the album’s many highlights.
Another Fine Day is a solid release from hometown Torture Agenda that will quickly find its way into your heavy rotation. The album is a volatile, bone-crushing, and engaging listen that you will appreciate more and more with each spin. While it’s easy for grindcore to get repetitive, the band does a fantastic job standing out amongst the noise with a fresh variety of rough tones and textures.
However, the moment is bittersweet as it marks Torture Agenda’s final release with the enigmatic, ski-masked screamer and noise sampler, V. While their absence will be noticeably felt and missed, they go out with a mushroom cloud on this heavier-than-lead record. Don’t miss it and add it to your queue below.
Torture Agenda’s Another Fine Day is out now and available for streaming on Bandcamp, Apple Music and Spotify.
Categorised in: Buffalo
This post was written by Matt Burgerhoff