V​/A – Divine Wind E.​P. (Imminent Destruction Records)

Oh, those artists)) At first, I thought that cover shows a creature from Sumerian mythology (presumably Jinn). But I was as far from the truth as Leonardo DiCaprio was from Oscar in 2000. This small 4-way split is entirely Japanese, hence, we need to seek answers in their mythology. The artist depicted a Japanese god of wind by the name of Fujin, who protects the Japanese land from the capitalist invasion (in my opinion, roots of this idea grow from the period when Mongols were trying to conquer Japan’s shores). Vinyl is also not so simple. Its color reminded me of a ripe juicy watermelon, very beautiful color of vinyl. These black splatters on a blood-red vinyl are fascinating. This truly Japanese collection is opened by Mass Collapse. Their thundering grindcore punk, although sounds kind of muffled, could be listened to very easily. With these sounds, the body is getting filled with vigor and energy. These 2 tracks are very good, I will take note of these punks. Mold ... this team is focusing more on hardcore. Their loud music reminded me a little of the legendary Unholy Grave. It seems to me that the vocals recorded with some minimal effect, which I can’t exactly determine. Even if it all sounds a bit noisy and dirty, but as for me, it draws attention to them. But Corbata is probably the heaviest band here. There is no high-speed riffs and drum knockouts. Corbata is like a great big truck that is rushing at full speed. Thick sound, coupled with wild vocals, makes the sound of this band very cool. During some moments, the songs reminded me of the good old Napalm Death in thei best years Picnic - the strangest band here. In their songs they combined speed, brutality and, oddly enough, melody. Fast and aggressive piece is replaced by a sudden pop melody and vocals transition from screams to clean vocals. Then again, a quick punch, and pop again ... very strange thing (although what is there to wonder about if this is Japan :)) Rating: Mass Collapse 7/10 Mold 7,5 / 10 
Corbata 8/10 Picnic 6/10

You can order this 7" here!