After the disbandment of Gridlink, guitarist Takafumi
Matsubara (also known for Mortalized and
Retortion Terror) wasted no time in
launching his next offensive. Joined once again by drummer Bryan Fajardo (Kill The
Client, Noisear), the pair assembled Barren Path, a grindcore strike unit made up of
seasoned veterans. Mitchell Luna (Maruta, Shock
Withdrawal) takes the microphone, while Mauro
Cordoba and Rory Kobzina return from
previous collaborations to handle bass and guitar duties. With this crew, Matsubara sets a different directive; drop the
hyper-speed futurism of Gridlink and embrace
rawer, stripped-down violence.
“Grieving”
wastes no seconds. Across twelve tracks that barely stretch past the one-minute
mark, Barren Path construct storms of
riffing that switch between flurries of melody and sudden shards of dissonance.
The drumming is executed with precision, not only in tempo but in its tactical
sense of when to overwhelm and when to cut off abruptly. Vocals tear through
each track with guttural force, shifting tone to match the sharp turns in
guitar phrasing. The band captures the chaos of grindcore in its pure form, yet
inserts fleeting glimpses of emotion, making the record harsh and oddly human
at the same time.
The album’s production is balanced in its aggression. Irving Lopez handles recording and mixing with a live-wire intensity, capturing every blastbeat and riff with enough force to strike hard without dulling their edges. The mastering by Leon Del Muerte pushes the sound to full combustion without slipping into collapse. The result is an album sounding unrelenting and merciless.
“Grieving”
clocks in at under fifteen minutes, quick, precise, and devastating. For
listeners familiar to grindcore it is an album that hits directly and without
hesitation. For those less acquainted, its sharp mix of savagery and fleeting,
almost fragile passages reveal why grindcore continues to evolve through
dedicated artists like Matsubara and his
crew. This is a sonic weapon designed for those who want extremity in its most
concentrated form. “Grieving” proves Barren Path as
a band fully formed, ready to carry forward the ferocity of the genre with
their own iron discipline.
Score: 7.0
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579110541664
https://willowtip.com/bands/details/barren-path.aspx
https://barrenpath.bandcamp.com/album/grieving
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