Review: “Still Offensive” by Neid

“This EP is a tribute to a musically prolific decade, the one that goes from 1990 to early 2000s, which in our humble opinion has been overlooked for a long time, unlike the acclaimed 80’s! We feel connected to the 90’s for many reasons, mostly because some of us took our first steps in that decade, having played in hardcore-punk bands born in that period such as Tmd, Manifold, Razzapparte and Flopdown. It therefore seemed natural to us to revisit and rearrange a bunch of songs from some bands we have always loved” ~ Neid

Italian grindcore trio Neid have been in the game since 2007, combining elements of Hardcore and Punk with Death Metal to create an old school sound that is equally as heavy as it is cathartic. Numerous splits, EPs and albums running on themes of Human exploitation, Mass control and World systems have escaped from their basement torture chamber hell since then with a career spanning compilation “Anthems to the Dissonance” essential listening. Now the band return to their roots with the help of cover art by famous Italian cartoonist Zerocalcare. Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room. Yes there are NOFX and Megadeth logos in the cover art even though there are no covers of either band in this collection. Perhaps that’s a joke to say that music by those bands isn’t offensive? Who knows? Who cares? What we can say is that Neid are a grindcore band so while there are seven tracks proper, this album is less than thirteen minutes long. It’s music for people with short attention spans that’s direct and to the point with no f***ing about.

A Hardcore Punk leaning cut with throat splitting vocals that finishes with a flourish of blast beats, “Rebels Today” is a fine place to start, it’s earworm hummable main riff making sure it takes pride of place in this collection. “Bandiera Nera” (or “Black Flag“) is equally as dangerous and feels like swimming in shark infested waters, the fleeting leads dancing around the ear canal like a burrowing worm looking to cause infection, both cuts reminding us of bands like Evergreen Terrace in this guise. Increasing the intensity and darkness “Ho Sempre Sbagliato” (or “I’ve Always Been Wrong“) is perhaps the vicious little ditty more in keeping with the style of Neid, one with aggressive tendencies that will make you want to hide your knives. Maintaining the momentum “Colpire” (or “Hit“) goes off like a nail bomb as a 40 second burst of violence that reaches Deathgrind levels of brutality. What’s great about this one is that the band maintain that sense of control throughout, never getting wild or feral even though they put you on the edge of the seat like Public Execution.

The bark and bite of the vocals on “Noi Due Tagliati In Due” (or “The two of us cut in two“) are equally as lethal, the band tearing it up while clearly having fun. Rumbling bass and a crushing guitar tone keep things fresh but it’s the crisp clean drum sound that makes this record a cut above in terms of quality. Flopdown cover “Prodotto Dal Terrore / Sostenuto Dalla Speranza” (or “Produced by Terror / Sustained by Hope“) is done similar justice as Neid impose not so much their own style but their own sound on these cuts. These aren’t note for note covers but cut and run versions, each delivered at breakneck speed with that harshness of grindcore so as to take the essence and without taking the soul. Slow and crushing “V x Cambiamento” (or “V x Change“) is a brooding downtempo piece until the last 44 seconds when the band put the pedal to the metal. You knew it was going to happen. A solid collection of well chosen cuts that work very well together, this covers record skilfully avoids the trappings of others eclectic and eccentric choices and instead hits like a knuckle duster to the chin… [8/10]

1. Intro 90s
2. Rebels Today… (Comrades)
3. Bandiera Nera (Affluente)
4. Ho Sempre Sbagliato (Kafka)
5. Colpire (Contrasto)
6. Noi Due Tagliati In Due (Frammenti)
7. Prodotto Dal Terrore / Sostenuto Dalla Speranza (Flopdown)
8. V x Cambiamento (XcaracoX)

“Still Offensive” by Neid is out 15th March 2024 via Time To Kill Records and is available over at bandcamp.