Of all the different styles that I’ve listened to since starting these reviews, it has easily been grind that I’ve had the most difficulty getting into with some success with barely a handful of acts here and there that have caught my attention. The thought to mix it with grind has never come across my mind, but that clearly didn’t stop the fresh Argentinian act of Medium from bringing them together for a sound that very well could make your blood boil. It’s here with this self-titled work that they blow all of my previous expectations right out of the water.

As a debut, there is no possible way on this earth that I could’ve asked or even hoped for anything better from any given band. Just anything related to grind is hard to enough to bring to life in such a way that someone like me can latch right onto without having to think about it has enough, and Medium’s bold choice to merge it with crust elevates it to another level that I didn’t think I would ever hear before diving into this effort. There’s tremendous energy that’s flowing forth from all seven of the tracks as all but one reaches anywhere close to four minutes long, so Medium doesn’t have a lot of time to work with but they pack so much into each song with so many twists and turns, peaks and valleys, and surprise after surprise that the entirety of the album feels alive with musical electricity that always keeps the energy at a maximum and entertainment value at a constant peak. Much like a sledgehammer hitting its mark, the riffs are as beefy as could be as they grip you right from the first deadly note as they come into existence, and then it’s like the strike of lightning that Medium can easily shift their sound either ever so little or so bold in such a way that it gives you whiplash despite it being an absolute treat to eat up every time it comes around. We get speed. They got power. It’s got ambition to shake up grind in a very interesting way. Medium brings the excellence of a special kind to the table that I could never have expected. There is so little throughout this delectable debut that’s not enjoyable that I really can’t help but implore you to check it out once it lands in just about every capacity.

Whenever any band of any kind comes out of the woodwork of the underground to deliver a very meaty and surprising record like this, we really do need to come together to not just appreciate the awesomeness that they’ve brought to the table but toss a coin to it as well. Medium has so much to their sound that’s simply awesome to witness while still having so much unhoned talent to tap into, and it’s with this album alone that we could never have asked for anything such as this but Medium delivered on a simply unexpected scale.

“Medium” releases on March 6th via Transcending Obscurity Records!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Medium” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Medium on Facebook here.