Review: “The Grip Of The Naked Mind” by Brainsore

Inflicting upon themselves self harm in the form of hours listening to bands like Brutal Truth, Pig Destroyer and Morbid Angel has left an unholy trinity Brainsore. Founded in Modena by drummer Luca Pennetta aka Don Gulag and guitarist Carlo Raspatelli aka Holy Father in spring 2022, the duo eventually recruited vocalist Federico Iulli aka Horcrux Urethra (ex-Jesus Ain’t In Poland) and started focusing on song-writing and live activity, storming the stages all over northern Italy. Describing their sound as a relentless mix of Death Metal, Grindcore, Hardcore Punk and a few Sludge moments accompanied by abstract lyrics covering history, imaginary stories and distorted visions “courtesy of our beloved planet earth” makes them an interesting prospect. A debut album then? It’s titled “The Grip Of The Naked Mind”…

Wasting no time with a fancy introduction “The Stinking Sinister” gets you in a headlock and running head first into traffic within the first 5 seconds. A Deathgrind cut designed to have maximum impact over a short duration, it has the restless and relentless feel of a sleepless night filled with black thoughts with pummelling percussion and razor sharp riffs for a soundscape. The interesting thing is that Iulli’s vocals while unclean aren’t as harsh as one might expect so you get perfectly comprehensible lyrical narrative without needing a magnifying glass and a lyric sheet. That being said a blood curdling scream and death growls open up the arteries at the start of the frenetic “Sons Of Seznec” before it shifts into a groove laden mid section of the highest quality. A standout in a violently turbulent record, it captures the imagination and could easily be doubled in duration without anyone batting an eyelid. Similarly “Harvest Red” has a sweet groove laden mid section while being bookended by furious rampages, the transitions between the stylings very cleverly worked.

Pennetta’s work behind the kit is incredible and “In Life Is Coils” is arguably the fines of his performances on the first half of the album. He’s like the energizer bunny on steroids, sucking down a can of caffeine before obliterating the target with the precision of a laser guided missile. Who needs a drum machine stuck in overdrive? The other thing that’s impressive about these cuts is just how much the band cram into each one. Lifting the lid on this record is like opening Pandora’s box and finding a riff factory and while all that glitters isn’t always necessarily gold, there is so much to choose from that a high percentage hit the target. “The Mangrove Diaries” brings the Hardcore Punk to the mid section as the artillery shelling continues and in all honesty, like putting blood in the water and then diving into a Shark tank to see who can get out first without bite marks, it’s simply good fun. Turning up the intensity a notch or two “The Amen Corner” is all out brutality, a venom fuelled rant from start to finish that is oddly reminiscent of those Discharge covers that Soulfly did back in 1998. Iulli has a Max Cavalera like gruffness in his vocal performance and the raw energy of this one makes in a truly unstoppable force.

A warped sounding down tuned riff gives “When Hunger Saves” a distinctive menacing quality as Brainsore slow things town to surpass the three minute milestone for the first time on the record. Perhaps they felt that they needed to prove themselves and this one hits like old school Skinlab, still having that energy to it despite the slow down in the assault. Right on queue Pennetta pulls out a couple of almost tribal drum fills to add a little bit of panache to “Mount Ashes” with Raspatelli providing urgent riffs that get stuck like a chainsaw blade in the brain. It’s a fine example of how to nail atmosphere over shorter durations, it’s dark and oppressive qualities shinning through before the almost Elvis esq “Please” adds a footnote. How about a track that is made to induce circle pit action from a packed festival crowd? Brainsore offer up the call for a tornado with “The Harder We Fall“, a whirlwind of pounding drums and neck snapping riffs delivered at the tempo of the damned.

As it that wasn’t enough to make you soil yourself then “Shrieks From Above” has got you covered with a violently turbulent opening with classic Death Metal leanings before descending into groove laden madness. Solid and unyielding it’s an anvil of a comfort blanket for a society discontented with the current state of World address. A side order of nails is served in “Adult Male” which goes off like a Molotov Cocktail with its sheer intensity as the riffs fly in all directions. Is there a limit on the amount of blasting the cranium can take before a brain haemorrhage is induced? If so this one cuts it close. Like cigarette paper close. One more to finish this half an hour of power in style? Why not? “Beyond Recognition” roars out the gate like a Pitbull stung on the nose by a hornet, howling like a bitch with some seriously furious vocals before a dark whisper adds another dimension. It has all the caffeine and none of the sugar which as we all know is a lethal combination. If this isn’t enough to get this band to Obscene Extreme Festival then frankly we don’t know what is [8.5/10]

Track Listing

1. The Stinking Sinister
2. Sons Of Seznec
3. Harvest Red
4. In Life Is Coils
5. The Mangrove Diaries
6. The Amen Corner
7. When Hunger Saves
8. Mount Ashes
9. The Harder We Fall
10. Shrieks From Above
11. Adult Male
12. Beyond Recognition

The Grip Of The Naked Mind” by Brainsore will be released on 2nd August 2024 via Time To Kill Records with pre-orders available over at bandcamp

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