Jointly released by longstanding label of some repute The Ghost Is Clear Records as well as the newly founded (by Wanderer's Brent Ericson) Mummified Gasp Records, comes this collaboration. The split first came to my attention thanks to the good folks over at Earsplit with a further incentive to cover it for Clean Sheets coming courtesy of Hell Simulation aka Ethan McCarthy's (Many Blessings/Vermin Womb/Primitive Man) artwork. All of which bodes well for the review to come.
First is YATSU a new five-piece hailing from the Dallas-Fort Worth area whose membership comprises Lane Oliver – Guitar, Josh Huddleston – Drums, Imran Syed – Bass/Vocals, JD Sweat – Vocals and Michael Briggs on Noise/Manipulation. The band's full-length debut It Can't Happen Here came out last year and brought us 17 tracks of thrilling sonic violence. I'm hoping for more of the same here.
In case you haven't been watching the news, 'October Seventh' references the Hamas-led attack on Israel. Musically you're reminded of Napalm Death from around the time of Enemy of the Music Business, an album which saw that band moving back towards their Grindcore roots after several albums of mid-paced Groove and Death Metal. JD's Vocals are far more decipherable, adopting more of a Hardcore bark than the guttural growls and shrieks of Napalm's Mark 'Barney' Greenaway, though the subject matter is of a similar sociopolitical nature. A sublime start. 'Biological Bullseye' though equally as bludgeoning, is imbued with a little more Noise-Rock, alternating brilliantly with the track's faster, more intense elements. The groove laden moments of the former make it a truly captivating listen and the use of spoken word passages throughout both tracks (that revolve around the theme of Gaza) highlight a band unafraid of experimentation. YATSU have described the tracks in the promotional notes as “some of our most hard-hitting thus far” and 'poignant'; they were bang on the money with those descriptions.
Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Wanderer have been around a little longer with a discography that dates back to 2014. This includes both the S/T EP and Grim Light/Wanderer split from that year, 2015's Anzio split, 2016's Gloom Daze EP and Live 1/30/16 set, 2018's Abandoned EP, 2021's debut full-length Liberation From A Brutalist Existence, 2022's Live at Hell Above, 2023's Indulgence of the Unreal EP and finally the remix EP Indulgence Remixed put out earlier this year. The band comprise Dan Lee – Vocals/Synth/Guitar/Samples, Mano Holgin – Drums, Jack Carlson – Bass/Vocals and Brent Ericson on Guitar/Noise/Vocals.
Both of Wanderer's tracks are actually re-recordings from the aforementioned Gloom Daze EP. Thus 'Glass Chewer '24' is a little slower to the original, highlighting the band's Sludge and Death Metal influences whereas the original had more of a manic Mathcore sound reminiscent of Full of Hell, Pupil Slicer etc. Despite not being the biggest Metalhead in the world, I could nonetheless appreciate the solid Repulsion style vibes present. 'Presence // Absence '24' is the longest track on the record and exceeds the original in terms of length too. The band's embrace of ambient sounds demonstrate an ever increasing confidence such as allowing the track to fade out slowly, thus bypassing the necessity of having to fill every moment. All of which results in an intriguing and assured conclusion to the record.
This split EP then is a wonderful collaboration by two bands clearly at the top of their game. Brutal, heavy and yet with enough creative twists and turns to keep you interested throughout its short running time, this will slot in nicely alongside your YATSU, Wanderer (or both) collection.
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