Gutter Prince Cabal – 19th July 2025
Christopher Nosnibor
As far as I can recall, I first encountered the word ‘bruxism’ in the early 90s, through the back-print of my Therapy? ‘Teethgrinder’ T-shirt. I fucking loved Therapy?, and the shirt was one of my favourites. I regret selling it, but I needed to eat, and a stretched and faded T-shirt that would pay for a whole week’s worth of groceries was an obvious choice for bunging on eBay.
I’ve since come to realise that I, myself, am prone to extreme jaw clenching during times of anxiety, and while listening to particularly intense music. Which brings us to the eponymous debut by Bruxist. As the pitch outlines, ‘Rooted in crust punk fury and d-beat momentum, Bruxist crashes through the gates with chainsaw Stockholm-style death metal, grimy rock’n’roll swagger, and even shards of frostbitten black metal. It’s a high-speed collision of sound: filthy, feral, and dangerously alive.’
And it is. The album offer seven relentless, pummelling tracks, half of which are under – or only just over – three minutes in duration. ‘Inversion’ doesn’t so much launch the album as kick down and throw in a massive stash of Molotov cocktails before starting a riot as the building burns. It’s frenzied and filthy, the guitars are a murky blur, the drumming is frenetic and the vocals a gargling raw.
‘Six Feet Headfirst’ staggers and swaggers, brawling, snarling and rabid, before ‘Black Sheep Discipline’ slams in at a hundred and fifty miles an hour.
The album is relentless in its pace and brutality. There’s a moment in the closer, ‘Divide and Conquer’, where it breaks down to just the bass for a few bars. It’s the grungiest, gnarliest noise imaginable. Then everything piles back in and nothing short of absolute devastation ensues in that final minute.
Bruxist is done in around twenty-three minutes – and in that time the band delivers something that’s almost unspeakably savage. It’s a proper, full-throttle, furious jaw-clencher, that’s for sure.
AA
Aural Aggravation 