TRIAC / THE KARMA PAYMENT PLAN split EP

First up is Triac with two tracks of vicious grindcore with forceful tempo changes that are really intense and dynamic. Means of Ethical Purity” jumps from chunky and beefy to midpaced dissonance, while “Landfill” is more of a high-speed attack with lots of tremolo picking and stop/start rhythm patterns. The recording is even heavier here than it was on their split with Medic, and a little cleaner, which might just do the trick. There’s still a great bass presence, the guitar tone is ultra heavy, plus hard-hitting drums with awesome fills. The screaming vocals are perfectly placed in the mix as well. Side B sees similarly diverse material from The Karma Payment Plan, jumping from hardcore/punk to straight grind to dissonant metal and hints at chaotic metalcore. “No Real People Just Cops” busts out some pull-off riffs and more of the odd metal, while “Silhouette Eclipse (System is to Machine)” sticks more to the churning rhythmic side where some classic death metal riffing lends it the metal feel. All of this with scathing vocal screams that are a little more bitter than usual. They’ve got a decent sound, a little thin and favorable to the vocals, but it works well enough. The black and white sleeve has some chaotic illustrations and sketchy/collaged band images with slightly cramped text. The Karma Payment Plan includes lyrics, which are personal and open (and bleak, of course) despite their semi political sounding titles, but Triac goes without lyrics once again. Another solid split, but Triac steals the show yet again.”