Music Review: Grindmother, Age Of Destruction

By Tim Murr

Last year Windsor, Ontario’s Corrupt Leaders unleashed a sick grindcore EP called Grindmother, named for vocalist Rain Forest’s mom who provided guest vocals on the album. A video of this wonderful 67-year-old woman singing grind core went viral, leading the Grindmother to record a single and now her debut album, with guitars provided by her son and Tyson Apex on drums.

The very first thing I want to get out of the way here is this: fuck any idea about this being a novelty album. No. This is a grind core album and it is deadly serious and amazing. Iggy Pop still hits the stage at 69 and no one says “wow, he’s 69 and doing rock and roll!” Neil Young is like, 100 now, but people are making a big deal about this woman singing grindcore at her age? A bit of ageism mixed with sexism in our media, perhaps? Screw that. If Age Of Destruction came out with no info about the band it would still deserve the attention it’s getting, because it is a heavy and awesome album.

In true grindcore fashion, only one of the ten tracks break the two-minute mark, the rest hover around the one minute to one and a half minutes. The Grindmother sings her heart out, and honestly I like her vocals a lot. Forest and Apex play like they’re trying to shoot their way out of a no-win situation. They are blazing hot!

Grindcore occupies a corner of rock and roll where punk is pushed to its most metal extreme, stripped of any frills, and boiled down to the absolute point. Pioneered by bands like Napalm Death, Carcass, and Brutal Truth, grindcore is one of the most abrasive and unforgiving genres, but it also has the ability to really excite the listener when it’s done well. Corrupt Leaders really brought it last year and Grindmother continues the barrage this year. This is a legitimately vital release that is absolutely worth the attention of grind, punk, and thrash fans everywhere.

Age Of Destruction is available now via Bandcamp.