Harpoon

Double Gnarly / Triple Suicide

Interloper Records 2008

Chicago's own epileptic grinders Harpoon spit out warp-speed riffs and violent intensity like a fire hose at full bore, attempting to blast away anything and everything within their reach.  Opening with the lengthy five minute salvo of Company Man, Harpoon set the tone for most of the ret of the album with screeching vocals, sped-up Slayer-ish riffs, and spastic electronic drums.  The Midget and Duchess is a patchwork of mediocre riffs that leaves me feeling uninspired.  Buddy System features some horn insanity, much like a simpler John Zorn, against a backdrop of lightning quick thrash riffs and frenzied drums.  Quickly proceeding afterwards is Sloth-Ass with some Morbid Angel rhythmic guitar work stapled to some mammoth riffs.  More Thrashing mayhem leaps like a kung-fu kick to the chin on Bad Beekeeping which alternates between slower mosh-inducing chords and hyper fretwork.  The album ends on a bland note as the rather plodding, post-hardcore sounding track, The Difficulty In Listening To The Elderly ambles along with no real destination in mind.  The programmed drums are a definite hindrance to enjoying Double Gnarly / Triple Suicide.  The cymbals hiss and are overly loud in the mix and tend to overwhelm the rest of the instruments.  Harpoon's debut album is somewhat of a mixed bag.  I have never been a big fan of grind because it usually lacks the ability to hold on to my attention once grabbed and Double Gnarly / Triple Suicide is no exception.  Perhaps it is the drum production but in general I think it also centers around their rather uninteresting songwriting where they sacrifice interesting riffs and hooks by overcompensating with speed and intensity.