SOUL GRINDER Album Review: (2024)

SOUL GRINDER
“Filth Encrusted”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9/10

Soul Grinder are a heavy metal band from the USA formed in 2016, releasing to date two E.P.’s – ‘Terraflesh’ (2017) and ‘Queen Corrosia’ (2019), and two albums – ‘The Prophecy Of Blight’ (2019) and ‘Filth Encrusted’, released in 2023.

Sounding like a female fronted version of legendary British metallers Venom, Soul Grinder also take inspiration from thrash metal titans Kreator and Testament – the bands new album a forty two minute barrage of traditional heavy metal come thrash with a very dark feel! Opening with ‘Melting Spree’, the band really do sound like an early eighties female fronted version of Venom – the similarity is uncanny! As a young and very impressionable teenager during the eighties when Venom began their career, I vividly remember the bands overwhelming dark vibes, arguably creating a sound that would later influence a whole new genre of metal – black metal! Soul Grinder could well be descendants of Venom, or a forty year old long lost twin!

But Soul Grinder have so much more to offer too, the bands root sound steeped in traditional metal, the iconic “foot on the monitor” feel very much in evidence, along with the classic old school gallop. Not to mention the glorious guitar sound so synonymous with the NWOBHM evolution, ‘Siege Breaker’ featuring that unmistakeable tone in phenomenal abundance. And just a quick mention regarding the vocals of lead singer (and bass player) April “Prilzor” Dimmock – raspy and throaty with just a hint of menace and aggression, reminding me a little of Wendy O’Williams (R.I.P.), vocalist of punk metal band Plasmatics. The pace of the album since it began has been fairly quick, the band moving to mid tempo territory for ‘Your World Is Ours’, planting both feet firmly on the monitor. The band are standing tall and proud in the traditional heavy metal genre, albeit at the heavier end!

Title song ‘Filth Encrusted’ turns the heat way up, delivering a furious thunderstorm of rough riffs, bringing to the fore a doom metal pace and feel. Imagine what the female offspring of a Black Sabbath and Venom liaison would sound like – that’d only be the tip of the iceberg though! For methinks Soul Grinder are carving out a sound all their own, making them stand out from their peers. Picking up the pace and hurtling down the road, ‘Overload’ is a fast and furious gallop of all out head bang ability – the band showing a clean pair of heels to leave everything heard so far lagging way behind! The speed of ‘Overload’ is incredible, a definite mosh pit favourite for sure. And at over six minutes in length, ‘Plague Pilgrim’ is the longest song on offer, introducing a much slower pace than anything heard up to this point. And what started out with having one foot in balladry, moves into aggressive anthemic mode, slamming listeners to the floor with a ferocity that’s liable to send them crashing right through to the floor below!

A chanted war cry leads us into ‘Chosen’, resuming the metal gallop and head bang ability of earlier. Yet across the chorus break, Soul Grinder introduce a melodious touch never heard before – the band creating a massive melodic metal feel. Definitely out of character for the album, it’s not out of place though! Oh no – ‘Chosen’ fits in perfectly, the band roaming around the heavy metal genre, visiting every corner, nook and cranny to deliver a varied listening experience. ‘All Is Dust’ rumbles in, adopting the hustle and bustle nature of metal, bringing an anthemic sing a long style chorus to the fore. A chorus that every listener, fan, follower and concert goer will sing a long to with a hundred percent enthusiasm. The band bring the album to a close with the mellow strains of ‘A Foul River’, the mellowness overcome by sharp guitar riffing at the one minute mark – with a mighty foot stomp to follow! The band are stomping hard here, shuddering the ground and shaking walls with a fierce intensity.

Overall, a very heavy traditional metal march, ‘Filth Encrusted’ is dark and menacing with a weighty old school feel.

TRACKLIST

Melting Spree
Siege Breaker
Your World Is Ours
Filth Encrusted
Overload
Plague Pilgrim
Chosen
All Is Dust
A Foul River

https://soulgrinderofficial.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/soulgrinderofficial

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