Total Fucking Destruction

Zen and the Art of (Translation Loss)
by Hansel Merchor

The years sure haven’t calmed former Brutal Truth skinman Rich Hoak, and as Zen and the Art of attests time and time again, now is not only about the grind. The first ten cuts are justifiably pure mayhem; they grind and grind, crush and crunch with Hoak bashing away madly, guitars continually rising speed and drawing warped shapes, and a voice that can’t be described as anything other than maniacal and hysterical. The four tracks that follow are acoustic and very melodic. Musically mostly approaching burlesque moods with lyrics that rant about Nazis and jocks, a chorus that’s complete at “bio-satanic terrorist attack” and another one that’s done with about twenty repetitions of a bare mantra; “nihilism, emptiness, nothingness, nonsense.” Closing out Zen and the Art of is the video portion; a party gig of the band as a three-piece. Ten quickies filmed with one camera that reveal that grindcore is played with your arms and heads and not with your body. Dudes barely move.
(www.translationloss.com)