Phobia / Abaddon Incarnate

For the tried and true crusty few who still have a turntable and seek out things like limited edition split seven-inches, here's a gem: a split between punk-y Yank grinders Phobia and Irish black/grind dudes Abaddon Incarnate. Phobia don't offer up any surprises on their four songs, which are exactly what we want from the band. They deliver near cheesy, but always spot-on, crust punk/grindcore, just like they've been doing for a lifetime now, same song over and over again, exactly how we crave it. Some double bass work in "Human Observation" brings the metal but for the most part, this is more on the punk side of grind ― dudes have their grind down to an awesome perfection. Abaddon Incarnate also keep things raw and patch-ridden, the treble-heavy production helping the crust cred and the blackened cred all at once. But don't let two references to black metal fool you: this is crusty stuff, all grimy, monotony and d-beat-y, the black only coming in a beaten-down, inner city way, like Ludicra by way of Amebix, filtered through the Phobia practically seeping through the other side of this platter of splatter and discontent.