Rumpelstiltskin Grinder – Living For Death, Destroying The Rest
With all of the thrash revisionists cluttering the underground these days, and their silly moniker, we really weren’t expecting much from this release. Luckily for us, RUMPELSTILTSKIN GRINDER surprised us. Sure, Living For Death, Destroying The Rest isn’t the kind of album you’ll be going back to all that often, but for a quick fix of this kind of stuff, it will do the job.
The stars here are guitarists Ryan Moll and Matt Moore who lay down an array of memorable chuggers. The riff fest on “Brainwasher C. 1655″ evokes thoughts of vintage Hetfield and Mercyful Fate and on “Nothing Defeats the Skull,” Moll and Moore even thrown in death metal infused speed for good measure.
Vocalist (also plays bass) Shawn Riley does a competent enough job here but his delivery starts to wear thin after awhile. A few variations in his performances would have served the band’s material well. In the end, Living For Death, Destroying The Rest comes off like one of those unremarkable thrash records that came out on Metal Blade back in the day. It’s solid enough for the collection but it’s certainly not going to stand out all that much.
Rating: 6.5
Label: Relapse Records
Website: www.myspace.com/rumpelstiltskingrinder
By Carlos Ramirez
(+21 rating, 5 votes)
