More than a year has passed since the four-piece death/grind/thrash outfit Mass Defect released their debut LP "Covert Eradicators." That would be roughly six years since the band's inception. The obvious question that comes to mind, besides "what the fuck is the reviewer doing with a year-old album?" would be "Is the release still relevant?" The following would be my take on the latter question. Answers to the former question are best left to the reader's imagination, thank you.
Anyone who has been going to local weekend gigs for the past three years or so would have not just probably seen these fellows, but heard most of the album's tracks (if they can remember them vaguely, as most of these weekend warriors drink themselves to a torpor, only to regain a semblance of the urgency to join the weekday, er, grind the following week. I should know, haha). Lots of people, even the band's peers, wonder if they would ever release an LP. Come to think of it, the band's vocalist, Alessandro Queri, mentioned the existence of a three-track EP a few years back. Anyway, the LP was released with fanfare (and an album launch gig, which is de rigueur) and I did get my copy.
Starting off with "Protocol," the listener is treated to a steady tempo that builds up to the songs proper (with the only distraction—a welcome one at that—being a solo bordering on the level of 80's porno sax sleaze, courtesy of lead guitarist Paolo Amutan). "Pre-Emptive Strike" comes next for some siege warfare, the band firing on all cylinders with no let-up. "Shrapneled Existence" take the barrage on a visceral level worthy of the song's title, with some of the violent thrash that you would hear throughout the rest of the disc. "Those Who Oppose," "Born Denied," and "Encrypted Subliminal Command" take recurring metal themes: oppression, submission, and conformity, and put them through an aural spin cycle. The title track continues the tack of violent thrash you would hear on "Shrapneled Existence," and with devastating effect. "War to End All Wars" borders on a level of death/grind a casual listener might associate (lazily, ok, hastily) with Misery Index, to be tempered only by James Jebulan's steady commandeering of the skins. "Skyrust" represents a tack on experimentation that the same lazy listener might find as running contrary to the overall theme, but somehow the quartet pulls it off (more so conceptually than in actual execution; which should not mean "haphazardly"). "Manila Must Fall" closes out the LP with anthemic appeal and messages that lean more to the left-of-center, even more so than the aforementioned fourth, fifth, and sixth tracks.
While one can obviously see no middle ground in Mass Defect's lyrical themes, the middle ground is prominently seen (or, heard) in the music. Very rarely does the band so much as stray from the fine line they have drawn between death, thrash, and grind, which may seem to be a boon to some, or a bane to others. As far as recording goes, this is as crisp as it gets, with my only gripes being having to strain my ears to hear Gelo Peren's low end at times, and the crispness taking away some of the intensity where it counts most.
Summing things up, I would say that this 2011 release is relevant, not as much in opening the jaded metal music listener's ears to this band's existence, as much as opening the same's eyes to this band's potential. Front Toward Enemy! [facebook.com/MASSDEFECTph]
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