Earthburner - Permanent Dawn

Earthburner has been waiting patiently for almost 23 years to surface; it just needed all the right parts to fully function. Formed back in 2001 from members of Death Metal act Broken Hope Mike Miczek on drums and Jeremy Wagner on guitars, the two wanted to delve into the more nastier side of Death Metal by incorporating Grindcore elements with this project, but also avoiding the usual Nasum or Napalm Death tropes. Chicago’s Earthburner is noisy, but not Full of Hell noisy, and yet is nowhere near as straightforward as your average Morbid Angel album. The music is brief and hits hard like Pig Destroyer (though not quite as much as a blip of music) thanks to the addition in the last year of vocalist Devin Swank of Sanguisugabogg- or Sanguinsabog as some pronounce them- and bassist Tyler Affinito of Gloryhole Guillotine. The result is a trip back to early to mid 90s Floridian Death Metal where fans of Barnes’ era Cannibal Corpse and Deicide will surely enjoy what spews forth. It took long enough but “Permanent Dawn” is likely to stick with the ears.

Like a lot of Grindcore out there, Earthburner is rather socio-politically charged with tracks such as ‘Like Dogs’ and ‘Slaves to the Screen’ are fast scorchers ripe with a rather clean sound to the drums, guitars, and bass. While ‘Like Dogs’ is the shortest track on the album, the 90s styled Death Metal shines right through in the riffs and drumming with some buzzing bass work. One of the first singles ‘Facelift’ has plenty of groove and simple yet effective vocal delivery. For Devin Swank, he growls and screeches a lot more clearly compared to his other project which is more of that Brutal Death/ Slam influence, so it is nice to hear him not sound like he’s burping blood and vomit all the time while delivering his other brands of fury. For those who like the stomping more Punk styled Grindcore aside from the mid paced thumpings that deliver, ‘Permanent Dawn’ switches between anthemic head banging moments to faster mosh pit frenzied sections before jumping into that bass led chorus that is incredibly catchy. ‘Perception for Profit’ has more of that Deicide delivery laced with more of the Heavy Metal/ Thrash Pig Destroyer touch, but again, avoids from being too overly noisy or short, though many of those tracks are pretty short to stay true to Grindcore fashion.

The album’s shortness is what holds it back a bit. With barely 21 minutes of music and such a long time for this project to cook, one would think that all four would have slipped in 15 tracks for at least close to 29 minutes of skull pummeling highlights. While the album does deliver without a hitch and those who listen to the more 90s era Death Metal or Grindcore in general should expect short, “Permanent Dawn” just feels a like it should be more, like there is so much more to say with the world the way it is and they just didn’t include it here. Those who are looking for more epic, time consuming pieces might want to look elsewhere, but for those who want just a fast, biting mix of Grind, Death Metal, and even thumping Punk/ Hardcore thanks to a closing Corrosion of Conformity cover, will find Earthburner the right listen. It isn’t as dirty as some might like nor loaded, but wastes no time with frills or overused samples as it delivers on a straightforward note that is sure to leave a mark with its message. Loud, aggressive stuff that is sure to turns heads and whip so fast that one might just have to listen again to really let it soak in.

3.5 / 5 STARS