Ed Gein

The sonic sucking chest wound that was Ed Gein’s impressive three-song self-titled debut is nothing compared to this full-on musical killing spree. It’s A Shame is rife with dazzling complexity, constantly shifting tempos, riffs and patterns spanning technical grindcore, death metal and metallic hardcore. Hectic and frenetic, the musical cacophony this three-piece creates is truly impressive, going from breakneck grind to split-second runs to breakdown and back again in seconds, constantly switching tempos and breaking ankles with its stop-start insanity. Hints of Dillinger, older Meshuggah, Brutal Truth and numerous other purveyors of the intricate and devastating abound, and Ed Gein also share commonalities with contemporaries the End and Daughters (As The Sun Sets), but have a catchiness that briefly rears its head sporadically, grabbing the listener with a straight razor to their throat when not dazzling. Also, their metallic hardcore aesthetic shines through in the huge breakdowns scattered about, usually overlaid with discordant noise or riffing. Lyrically, the punk rock critiques/declarations are not cloaked in poetry but straightforward and bare, with explanations for most of the songs, but it’s obviously indecipherable without the lyric sheet. And the Donnie Darko samples strategically placed every few songs only heighten their coolness. A hidden rendition of Nirvana’s "Very Ape” (In Utero) ends the affair, the brief 26 minutes more almost too much to comprehend but sadly not nearly enough.