REVIEW: NEEDFUL THINGS 'TENTACLES OF INFLUENCE' (OBSCENE)

Poland and the Czech Republic are without doubt, the underground heartland of European grindcore. Maybe it's the recent history of direct political action, or the sense of very real impotence and stagnation that characterised much of post-communist decade, or maybe it's just the preponderance of gassy lagers doing something to the attention spans or shortage of vowels making lyrics seem angry, but in this part of the world they build them fast as fuck and thoroughly pissed off.

Active since 1995 and having released a split with the absolutely blistering Lycanthropy, Needful Things have bolstered their rumbling, Scandinavian-style assault with some monstrous, muscular production on 'Tentacles of Influence' (which you can stream here, and then BUY, obviously!), giving the whole thing a sense of Rotten Sound, circa the bloody-toothed pummelling of 'Exit'. The perfect balance between that old school chaos and modern, tightly-hewn delivery like a laser-guided warhead packed with rabies, 'Tentacles of Influence' is a serious, zero-bullshit offering that'll make both casual fans of the genre and diehard speedfreaks drop their jaws and fill their pants.