The world of grind is something that I constantly find myself coming back to with very much of an itch that the likes of Cattle Decapitation have instilled in me that has been reoccurring for years now. Yet, it’s been hard for me to find any material throughout the style that actually appeals to me as it turns out a lot of what I hear just isn’t stimulating enough, but there are always some exceptions, of course. I didn’t think I would come across such tonight, but it’s with their latest work of malleable grind that Under the Pledge of Secrecy shows us something very interesting.

While I could easily see people arguing over the exact specifics of the sounds we hear on this album and what category they fall in, it’s no contest whatsoever that at the core of “Empire of Bastards” is a bubbling mass of grind that can effortlessly shift its form into something melodic, highly technical, or the more traditionally ferocity that grind is more accustomed to. Such experimentation, surely, is not new to the style but new to me and it’s here that Under the Pledge of Secrecy brings it to my attention with staggering quality and consistency such that I honestly can’t say there’s a track throughout the whole of “Empire of Bastards” that isn’t amazingly thrilling. There’s so much happening in each track to where each has its own distinct identity whose power and prowess cannot be questioned as Under the Pledge of Secrecy can easily transition from something surprisingly accessible with loads of melody to be had on top of the undeniable riffage, ravenous sounds that could peel the very paint off the wall, or some combination of both. It’s far from common to see a work like this come together as brilliantly as it has here, but something very interesting as happened here with “Empire of Bastards”, to say the least. This is an album that’s far from anything I’ve come to expect from the modern landscape of grind, but I can’t help but find it immensely fitting with its immense quality just being the tip of the excellence on display.

The amount of times I’ve come out of a grind album surprised much more so than I ever could’ve expected could be counted on one hand, and it’s undoubtedly here that Under the Pledge of Secrecy has exceeded my expectations on every front in every way. So much of what’s poured into “Empire of Bastards” is what makes both a great grind album and band, and I can’t help but feel that Under the Pledge of Secrecy has achieved both with this album.

LISTEN to songs from “Empire of Bastards” on Bandcamp here.

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