Endless Swarm – Manifested Forms

Artist: Endless Swarm

Title: Manifested Forms

Release: LP / Digital

Year: 2023

Label: To Live A Lie, Coxinha Records

Scotland’s Endless Swarm is one of the most promising powerviolence bands of the last 15 years. Bringing a fresh hardcore punk approach to songwriting and a very strong and tasteful grindcore sensibility, their new album Manifested Forms, first self-released on March 3, 2022, is a breath of fresh air in this scene which is having something of a momentum.

In no more than 20 minutes, Endless Swarm deliver a vicious, storming assault of thrashy riffs, shouted powerviolence vocals and deep growls combined with intense drumming, frequent tempo changes and breakdowns. The album has an old school DIY sound, influenced by Spazz’s frantic and convulsive jagged noise, as well as newer but very recognizable bands like Sex Prisoner and Gets Worse (with whom they have a split), who also come to mind.

Having been a prominent band in grindviolence circles and releasing a bunch of splits with well-known bands like Fuck on the Beach, Brainshit, Tools of the Trade and others, the quartet is no stranger to the scene and has already established itself in the DIY hardcore/grind sphere as one of the better bands of the last few years, and their new album is a very good testament to that statement, as it’s definitely their best, most compact and complete work after a decade of more than a dozen strong splits, two EPs, two compilations and two full-length albums—the last of which was released in 2018 (Imprisoned in Skin), and already showed their dedication to this sound.

Manifested Forms will not surprise powerviolence aficionados, but it will definitely keep them happy with its fresh compositional approach and catchy song structures, dark yet somehow upbeat atmosphere. It might even catch the ears of some traditional hardcore punk fans if they don’t mind a little grind thrown into the mix amidst the perfectly placed vicious breakdowns. There are also very cool slower sections that remind us of the classic Slap-A-Ham PV sound, done in a more modern way with excellent production. Alex Sharp, the bassist, delivers strong backing low growls to the typical screamed vocals of Gray Caldwell. And there’s a great guest vocal appearance on the title track, which is probably the best one here—it has everything a classic grindviolence song should have in a little more than one minute—which is slightly above the usual. It’s a controlled chaos musical environment and Endless Swarm seem to have perfected this age-old formula in their latest album.

Produced by the band themselves with cool artwork by Steve Myles, the LP is available on To Live a Lie Records in the US and there will also be a vinyl release of the album in Europe in July on Coxinha Records—stay tuned!

Source: diyconspiracy.net