If adjectives such as searing, caustic, and discordant come to mind, then (Perth-based) grindcore outfit Hailstones Kill 200 should prove to be what you're looking for. With their latest release, June 19th, 1932, these grinders from down under have seemingly avoided a cut and paste approach to their particular brand of sonic terror. The recipe comes over with authority, and establishes its frenetic but oblique attack at once. With June 19th, 1932, Hail Stones Kill 200 have taken an abrasive skin of expansive, cacophonous chordwork (in the vein of acts like DEP, Pig Destroyer, Agrophobic Nosebleed, et al), and stretched it across a foundation not unlike Nasum or (even) early Napalm Death.

Within the quickly marching twelve tracks contained in June 19th, 1932, HK200 have swerved noticeably (and refreshingly) from the three-finger model, opting instead for diminished, augmented, and (even) chromatic combinations to cauterize the contents of their sound. The overarching tempo of the recording is essentially free of dirge-time rhythms, though these rare moments (happening in tracks such as "Everything for Nothing", and "Spiderectory") provide a means of decompression in between the otherwise relentless assault of the brain-needling, chaotic tug-of-war.

Blast-beating is the mainstay of this musical diet. "Power of the Stranger" is a prime example of this observation, where HK200 pulverize the listener within its opening measures with an insane mass of blast-beating fury, or also "Story of My Life", with its classic short-fused speed, and white-line grindcore feel. "Chapter 37" is a standout, with its break out 1-2 drum punching, and (0:12) lead-in to a hard, atonal hardcore take-down. A gradual tempo slope sets in around 1:25, and shifts the riffing aggressively into a scrappy pit romp.

Indeed, the wind down riffs are, on the whole, well placed throughout the recording. One gets the sense that these phrases are there for strategic purposes--- to coil back the steel springs, so to speak, so that the song can have a musical vantage point to lunge from and (naturally) inflict the greatest amount of virulent impact. The guitar mix scours the eardrums with unbelievable grit and grain, and the drums are clearly mixed midway to deliver a sharp, gut-popping blow with every note.

Less guttural and falling boulders, more broken glass and anti-tank ordinance--- such is the way of July 19th, 1932.