Grindcore and Hardcore Punk freaks flock together here! KOURISTUS are a Finnish Grindcore band from Tampere, active since 2012. This is a reissue of their “Demo 2022” (two tracks), “Demo 2019” (five tracks) and “Teurastamo” EP 2018 (eight tracks). As you can understand from the name of the 2018 EP every track and lyric is written in Finnish and I can say that this is a very suitable language for Grindcore! The sound is devoted to an early stage of Grindcore – when some Hardcore Punk band put together some extreme Metal outfit – and a dutiful reference is SIEGE. The “Demo 2022” is definitely the band’s manifesto that with two tracks and less than three minutes is capable of making you understand how Grindcore started its way before the early REPULSION, TERRORIZER and NAPALM DEATH invasion. The “Demo 2019” has another boost and it’s the grindest among the three releases. The recordings of the two demos aren’t quite at the level of the EP but this isn’t necessarily a defect. “Teurastamo” – the EP from 2018 – is the craziest and the most powerful release of the three in this version. But overall the two demos mark a growth in terms of impact. Overall what I enjoyed the most is the mix of elements characterizing both Hardcore Punk and Grindcore. The sound is grinding and captivating at the same time while the voice is an up and down between raw and clean. They undoubtedly deserve a live set on hate5six – nowadays the mecca of Hardcore Punk and its derivatives. 15 minutes of Hardcore Punk and early Grindcore – nothing less, nothing more. Exactly what you would expect and this isn’t at all an obvious factor! For more info, be sure to follow them at www.facebook.com/kouristus and www.facebook.com/visceralcircuitryrecs