Gnawed - (2020) Subterranean Rites

 Malignant Records ‎– TUMORCD125

Over the past decade, Grant Richardson has nurtured his solo undertaking Gnawed into one of the leading forces of Midwest noise. Following numerous cassettes and CD’s for labels like Phage Tapes, New Forces, and his own Maniacal Hatred imprint, Richardson is welcomed into the Cloister family via Subterranean Rites, his first full-length vinyl release (with a CD version on the Malignant label) carefully constructed over the past three years. His meticulously patient and disconcerting approach to death industrial and power electronics evades blunt bombast for a distinct dynamism that crawls ahead obscurely, a slow suffocation by the stench of decay lining the sewers, tunnels, and concrete vaults Richardson recorded on location as source material. While it may seem trite to laud Subterranean Rites as the most thoroughly realized Gnawed work thus far, Richardson’s breathing drones, sub-audible pulsations, subconsciously esoteric vocals, and almost orchestral grim electronic manipulations have been articulated with masterful confidence, a chilling shot of disquiet for bleak times.