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IRON FRONT
Left Out To Rot

Self-released (2022)
Rating: 8/10

The album cover artwork alone is worthy of an 8/10 rating and then you get trampled by the bludgeoning dynamics of this crushing Oakland, California-based death metal act. Using modern production techniques, Iron Front’s debut full-length platter pulverises the listener with a 90s old school feel as the combo embarks on its mission to batter and bludgeon.

There’s a great mix here of thick yet fast guitar routines and slower, meatier aspects that border on grindcore. Vocalist Topey Plourde barks out some seriously guttural burps, Max Mahmood’s drums are destructive as his blast beats act as toxic wind-tunnels, and Jonah Gilles bass just rumbles throughout. Throw all this in a blender with the guitar assaults of Cruz Garcia and Jesse Dicrutattalo and you have the musical equivalent to having your brain liquefied.

For me, it’s the staggering intensity and weight of Iron Front’s slower chugs which amaze the most, and even though the punishing slams feel decidedly contemporary it still makes for a brutal experience.

‘Torn Out’ pretty much sums up the band and their crushing sound, as does the groove-based mechanics of ‘Sawed And Salted’. A filthy, barbaric grindcore ingredient remains throughout this imposing opus while the hideous flurries of ‘Hoe Science / Science Bitch’ is the combo at its fastest, finishing you off just in case you haven’t already been flatted by the steamroller riffage elsewhere. Although it’s not usually my thing, Iron Front’s debut is a grinding attack on the ears.

Neil Arnold

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