Mass Extinction - Rotten Sound New Album
Introduction and Band History
If Rotten Sound were an image, it would be a grindcore locomotive derailing and running over everything in its path and rightly so. Formed in Finland in the early ’90s, this sonic machine is one of the most respected institutions in grind, surviving for decades without losing intensity or relevance in the extreme scene. They are veterans who not only keep up with the genre’s evolution, but continue to push its limits while practically redefining the meaning of concise brutality.
They have always been about immediate impact, and that becomes crystal clear on their new work.
First Immersion into Mass Extinction
Right from the opening track of Mass Extinction, I feel as if I’ve been hurled into a power plant undergoing a meltdown of thoughts and emotions. This EP, with only eight tracks and just under ten minutes, is a controlled explosion of political and biting grindcore, every second carved to cause maximum impact within a minimal time window.
What impresses me most is how the band uses this short span to sculpt a sonic narrative so urgent that every hit sounds like a call to arms. There are no empty spaces, no unnecessary concessions, it’s as if the riffs and blast beats are compressed under pressure until they reach critical density.
Brutal Energy and the Intent Behind the Songs
This EP is visceral from start to finish. Opening with 'Recycle', it feels like being thrown into an inescapable whirlwind, with drumming that doesn’t even give you time to breathe properly. The pure aggression continues in 'Ride of the Future' and 'Gone', where hardcore ferocity merges with dirty groove passages, always maintaining that sense of imminent danger.
The track 'Brave New World' is a good example of how Rotten Sound knows how to blend reflection with sonic chaos and does so without sounding forced. The mix of speed with small grooved pauses creates that moment of catharsis that only well-executed grind can deliver.
Even when the band seems to glance toward some kind of light at the end of the tunnel, as in 'Idealist', the music never stops being hostile, it simply provokes even more, as if saying: yes, there is hope, but first face the brutality of reality.
Cohesion and Execution
What sets Mass Extinction apart from a simple collection of fast songs is the unity it carries. Despite its short duration, this EP doesn’t sound fragmented, on the contrary, it feels like a coordinated assault, each track builds upon the previous one, creating an unstoppable arc of tension that culminates in the title track itself.
The performance is also obscenely cohesive. The drums are a machine gun of precise hits, the guitars alternate between sonic pulverization and dirty grooves that stick in your head, and Keijo Niinimaa’s torn vocals reinforce that constant sense of urgency.
Conclusion: A No-Frills Grind Explosion
In short, Mass Extinction is a testament to the fact that Rotten Sound remains an unstoppable force in grindcore. The EP is short, yes, lightning-fast, I’d say but it doesn’t spare intention or power. Every note sounds like shrapnel and every second is a punch to the gut, exactly as the genre is meant to be experienced.
If you love grind without concessions and value a surgical execution of sonic chaos, this release deserves to be played loud and repeatedly. It’s the kind of project that makes you forget about time, not because it’s long, but because its intensity implodes any notion of duration.
