Review: “Collide” by Suffering Quota

Known for their signature blend of Grindcore, Death Metal, Crust and Hardcore, dosed in various quantities, four years after a three way split with Psychoneurosis and Herida Profunda and six after their last album  “Life In Disgust”, Dutch quartet Suffering Quota were back in the studio. Recorded live at Soundlodge Studio Rhauderfehn, Germany by Jörg Uken (Warpath, Anvil, Party Cannon) who also mixed and mastered, the band have chosen artwork created by painter and friend Wokkel to grace “Collide“. Prepare to be ripped to shreds…

The album opens with “Out“, an eerie 20 second sample introducing 51 seconds of blistering Grindcore that finds vocalist Gerald Timmermans spitting, snarling and screaming his way through a verse against a backdrop of go hard or go home, raw aggression that actually has a nausea inducing melody to it. “Miles” then disposes of the introduction and unleashes 36 seconds of audio violence, the kind of abomination that the use cause sleep depravation in when extracting information from suspects in questionable fashion. Caustic vocals, razor sharp riffs and artillery shelling percussive battery, it’s all here, present and correct… with teeth. “Rights” follows the pattern, switching up the rhythmic dynamics and finding guitarist René Beukers offering a couple of incredible Death Metal riffs, imagine Napalm Death on steroids and you get the picture. The band do have a softer side though and play on atmospherics with sub two minute “Side“, with a melancholic mid section that meanders on Post-Hardcore with a clank-y bass line before the audio violence returns like a sucker punch in final moments. Dark and chaotic with off kilter grooves “Drown” is arguably the finest moment the first half of the record, a schizophrenic 6o second burst that will crack a smile on the face of old school The Dillinger Escape Plan fans. “Grow” as a Hardcore Punk heart and it races away like a banker on a cocaine fuelled binge, sprinting down the streets looking for a dealer with toilet paper hanging from the arse crack and the shirt hanging out. Martin Kah’s kit work is incredible, he’s the driving force behind the band and has the ability to annihilate the weak in a couple of moments. Gene Hoglan would be impressed.

Every second of the bands 15 years in the genre has been put to good use here, each cut finding the band playing with depth, texture and atmosphere in short and turbulently violent bursts, each one a poison pill just waiting to induce a brain haemorrhage. “Pig” picks up where the first half of the record left off, a groove laden Death Metal riff adding some menacing overtones, the drums rattling the bones like being hit by a burst from a Gatling gun. There is barely any time to compose yourself before “Time” follows up, another vicious little ditty that is so barbed it draws blood at thirty paces. Short and devilishly sweet it enables “What” to have twice the impact with twice the length, a gang chanted chorus buried in the black depths roared so violently its barely heard over the tornado of abuse from the instruments. The earworm riffs and frantic and frenetic pace keep coming with “Aid” a poison dwarf of an addition to this collection of cuts. Barely time for a couple of vocal likes, it strips the fresh from the bone in fine fashion before the knuckle duster punch in the face of “False” takes the cake. More violent than an assault with a nail gun, it’s the kind of savage brutality which may convince some that the band have finally gone feral. The grand finale is “Scorn“, the band creating a track almost twice the duration of the longest one here and using it to rip out a solo as they embrace more song structure without ditching their Grindcore roots. “Collide” is the sonic equivalent of being dragged through a hedge backwards by the hair while being force fed shots of Jägermeister and loving every second [7.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Out
2. Miles
3. Rights
4. Side
5. Drown
6. Grow
7. Pig
8. Time
9. What
10. Aid
11. False
12. Scorn

“Collide” by Suffering Quota is out 26th May 2023 and is available over at bandcamp.