REVIEW FOR I XVIII, MMIV

NOISECORE FREAK
CORNER ITCH THEORY
DEADSIX COMMUNICATIONS, 2003
 
Wow.  That's all I have to say about this album.  Well, actually I have more to say about it; I'm just using clichés here.  Noisecore Freak, a one-man band featuring the talents of one Chris Stepniewski, plays noise-influenced grindcore and is from the brutal town of Mississauga.  My review of the band's previous album, the Noisecore Freak/Murder by Static split Welcome to the Stitchface Star Sitter Experience, resulted in me giving a 3/10 to the Noisecore Freak part of the album.  Well, Noisecore Freak has improved by leaps and bounds since then.  To be honest, Corner Itch Theory is some of the best grind I've heard in a while.  The vocals on here are incredibly harsh and the music is really confrontational.  Mind you, there is a lot of electronic noise on Corner Itch Theory but I haven't heard as good of a perfect merger of electronic and grindcore elements as what's on offer here.  I've never been one for computer-processed grind since the music is either depersonified or is so overprocessed that it sounds washed-out or boring, but here the production allows the guitars to have a harsh sound without destroying them in the process.  The only problem I have is with the pish stream-of-consciousness lyrics but even they convey a feeling of misanthropy.  For once, the bio sheet is right when it says "this hauntingly insane release is sure to devastate the mind and burn out a synapse or two."  Folks, Mr. Stepniewski isn't kidding.
 
By the way, I don't like to pick at old wounds like this but the review of Noisecore Freak I did in 2000 was one of the reviews I submitted for a Chronicles of Chaos "audition."  Four years later, I may not be on the CoC staff but at least Mr. Stepniewski liked it.  For that I have three words to say: NEENER NEENER NEENER!
 
No, I'm not mature.  Deal with it.
 
NOISECORE FREAK
142 Blackfoot Trail
Mississauga, ON
L5R 2G6
CANADA
http://www.noisecorefreak.com/
[email protected]