Defeatist was a brutally heavy grindcore band from New York formed by the ex-guitarist from death-grind band Kalibas and the bassist and drummer from noise-rockers Anodyne. Their first full-length (after several singles and a split EP, all collected on Sharp Blade Sinks Deep Into Dull Minds) packs 19 songs into just under 28 minutes, and they bleed straight into each other so it’s like an unstoppable, merciless beating. Guitarist/vocalist Aaron Nichols has a hoarse, indecipherable (even by grindcore standards) scream, which they do nothing to foreground in the mix. So don’t bother worrying about the lyrics. For all intents and purposes, this could be an instrumental trio blasting out fierce riffs and incredibly precise (but paradoxically loose- and punk-sounding) drum barrages. Everyone is hitting as hard as possible, never giving themselves, let alone the listener, time to breathe.

– Phil Freeman