The Berzerker Dissimulate

I think The Berzerker have created a new genre. This genre, or rather sound-barrage, can only be described as Tetris-core. Now, I know that's a bit odd sounding, but believe me, once you hear "Dissimulate," which I'm assuming is similar in orientation to their initial release on Earache, you'll know what I mean: the drumming sounds exactly like those little blocks on Tetris when they hit the bottom of the screen. Remember that little *plink* noise Well, take that and speed it up 10x, and that's The Berzerker. In all honesty, this band totally blew me away at first. Every instrument is played, it seems, with the intent of destroying any eardrums that happen to wander within a half-a-mile radius. Then, after eradicating all hope of hearing again, they continue to pummel and assault the listener. Of course, they go too far, and about five minutes into the album, your heart and lungs collapse, and you die. Ok, so what am I trying to get across here Frankly, it's that every song sounds alike; so much so that it's useless in even trying to explain the minute (and I mean minute) nuances that differentiate one song from the next. Suffice to say, every one can be blanketed with the term "earsplittingdeathnoise." However, despite the overtly repetitive nature of "Dissimulate," The Berzerker's live effort is completely ridiculous. To be sure, they put on a show that rivals almost any metal band in terms of intensity, but they have chosen to add an element to their "act" which removes them from the world of metal and grind and places them squarely in the world of Gwar: masks. I mean, how could I take them seriously now that they were all head-banging on stage with these incredibly goofy ensembles Sure, I nodded along to avoid looking un-metal in the face of all those that had come to see Nile and Napalm Death, but deep inside, I was sorely disappointed. Plus, they were all Australian, and the singer kept saying "Cheers!" after each song, and that was just straight-up weird. Bottom Line: The Berzerker is insane and inane all at once. While the music is fast, ugly, and downright brutal, it's a bit too cheesy for my tastes. After only a few spins, I was thoroughly bored with them (a little annoyed, even) and thus was quite content to play my favorite Pig Destroyer record instead. They put on a great live performance, granted, but aside from the theatrics, there's not too much to "Dissimulate" to distinguish it from other (read: better) grind albums.