released December 17, 2011

For those of you still confounded by this unprecedented and absurd introduction to a review (I am still in two minds whether it is a nifty break away from convention or the worst example of reviewer creativity since people reviewing what they expect an upcoming album to sound like… yes seriously some people do that), but the point being is that German Grind racketeers Abjured are an integrious aspiration to Swedish grind, an identity they have interpreted with intimate precision and bold affection.

Life you Know?! Is the more substantive moments of Nasum’s impassioned grind arch annexed to the formidable riff work of General Surgery’s rhythmic whirls, tipped with death metal rolls, extrovert rhythmic swabs and a singular pinch of hard rock thrown into the mix too. Ultimately being a breeze of conventionality and creativity that is here to revile with impunity.

Weighing in at 17 tracks and flaunting a run time of just under half an hour, Abjured offer plenty in the way of content, maintaining a consistent momentum to their work that continually drives a full bodied and fast paced grind work out from start to finish engaging the listener throughout.

The majority of their work is a streamlined grind constant, a distinct laceration of sound that gives a menacing fiendishness to their work whilst subtle riff escalations and rhythmic steering carve out an artistic character to band and give each track sufficient departure from the last to make each track shine on its own, whilst still retaining the continuity to the overall bloom of the album.

There are a few select moments that jump the gun, breaking from the curt confines of the release, with guitar solos breaking forth and rolling in extroversion of harmony and commanding string work experiences one would associate with metal acts and rock, but with the metal break aways still holding a grinding fracas still scrimmaging in the backdrop. Although these moments are unorthodox and very much alien to our listening experiences a certain shock value is attached to them, but these instances of genre hopping don’t detract from the overall experience, they may seem out of character in my review, but in the music there is an inherent sense of their belonging.

Arguably the listening experience of Life you Know?! Is one best enjoyed as an album listened from start to finish rather than select tracks, in order that one become acquainted with the entirety of what the band offer. They may dub their music “Waste Town Grind”, but there is certainly an underlying nature of co-ordination, well thought out development and overall charm to what presents itself as a reinforced grind offensive with a censure to socio-politics.