Rotten Sound

Following Keijo Niinimaa's stint with Nasum last year, performing vocals for their 20th anniversary/farewell tour, Finnish grindcore masters Rotten Sound have returned with a new EP to follow-up 2011's Cursed and tide fans over as we eagerly await their next full-length. The aptly titled Species at War features six tracks in eight minutes and serves as a teaser of what we know and love from Rotten Sound: unrelentingly fast, visceral grind. Opener "Cause" is a one-minute assault of rapid-fire drum blasts, indecipherable guitar dissonance and Niinimaa's hate-filled bark. "The Game" catches you off-guard with a slower-paced, groove-laden riff before returning to the clamour of distortion on "War," which carries on throughout "The Solution." By this point, it's clear that Species at War is a back-and-forth exchange of attack and retreat, as head bang-worthy riffs return on the doom-y "Salvation" before the EP closes in a whirlwind of chaos on the ironically titled "Peace."