Agathocles is more of a quintessential grindcore band than not. Calling its style 'mincecore,' though I'm not smelling any onions or bits of garlic here, the group has done just fine trucking out numerous minor releases since 1985 with a few full-length records here and there. Despite a lack of popularity among the metal crowd compared to Napalm Death et al., there is little here that would indicate lesser quality or concerns thereabouts. The nine tracks Agathocles presents are heavy on blast beats and punk-flavored riffs, broiled over a robust bass-heavy sound quality and guttural yelps. These songs run for under a minute, usually, and during their handful of cuts there is an archetypal aura of old-school grindcore, nothing more. No keyboards, no violins, no surprises; just grindcore cooked to order. It's fun and heavy, abrupt and belligerent-little else is needed.

Satanic Malfunctions was completely foreign to me before I heard this. Apparently a cult hardcore punk act from the UK with a knack for dabbling in grindcore and metal influences, they split up for a long time, reformed, released new stuff. The hardcore punk inclinations are clear as day in the guitar tone, which definitely has that punky bite. But the grindcore elements are obvious: blast beats are constant, and the riffing style tends to emulate the guitar parts found on Agathocles' side. Their tunes are a bit more focused and notable, however. I found myself enjoying them despite my lingering frame of mind reminding me that the punk sound and its subgenres make me feel even more isolated from its family get-together than the annual grindcore shindig. Again, solid stuff.