ALBUM REVIEW
BEATEN TO DEATH – Vntrve
Restless grindcore with saxophone-driven experimentation.
One of the most rewarding aspects of writing reviews is, I think, crossing paths with unusual bands like BEATEN TO DEATH. Few acts in Oslo’s grindcore scene have made pushing beyond conventional boundaries a defining principle of their career quite like they have. Beginning their journey in 2011, the band have now reached their seventh studio album with "Vntrve", a record that expands this approach through a range of different musical directions. Across thirteen tracks in roughly 27 minutes, hip-hop, jazz, thrash metal, hardcore, and experimental sound treatments sit alongside grindcore’s short, hard-hitting compositions. The humour that emerges is not confined to song titles or the band’s sardonic take on metal clichés; it also comes through in the unexpected turns their songwriting takes.
Opening track 'Slosspit' immediately establishes the album’s direction with a vocal approach that departs from the usual grindcore opening salvo. Combining rap-like delivery with harsh vocals, the track builds its rhythmic identity on more than sheer speed. Christian “Bartender” Svendsen’s drumming provides a rhythmic backbone amid the guitars’ restless, erratic lines, giving the song a constantly shifting character. 'Fear of Being Included' then follows this freer opening by returning to grindcore’s direct aggression through blast beats, abrupt stops, and forceful vocal transitions. Placed back to back, the two tracks demonstrate how BEATEN TO DEATH can move between different approaches without losing the genre’s fundamental energy.
'Electrocuted by the Sky' is one of the strongest examples of this interplay. Grindcore’s fast, fragmented guitar writing opens up into groove-driven passages, while a rhythmic shift in the middle of the track takes on a weight reminiscent of SEPULTURA’s "Roots Bloody Roots" era. That resemblance never allows the song to become an exercise in another band’s aesthetic, though; BEATEN TO DEATH absorb the passage into their own unruly approach to songwriting. Death metal-oriented sections and more clearly defined melodic guitar movements prevent the track from scattering its ideas in too many directions. 'Fångad i en Battle Vest', meanwhile, brings the relationship between thrash metal and grindcore into sharper focus, making room for memorable details amid the aggression through shifts in guitar melody and brief harmonic touches.
One of the album’s most intriguing decisions is the incorporation of jazz, particularly through the use of saxophone. 'The Tolerator' initially draws the listener into a different rhythmic space with a groove built around bass and drums, while the guitars’ restless movements and the vocals’ ferocity prevent this passage from becoming a moment of respite. Once the saxophone enters, the track veers into a kind of disorder that pushes beyond grindcore’s conventional instrumental boundaries. Rather than functioning as a melodic solo voice, the instrument challenges the sonic space, at times approaching outright noise, which makes its inclusion all the more effective. Closing track 'Vntrve' develops a similar approach within a more expansive composition. Heavier riffs and crushing groove sections collide with the saxophone’s high-pitched outbursts, which spread across the stereo field, while Svendsen’s drumming provides the essential connective thread that keeps the piece from falling apart. The experimental element thus becomes more than a surprising guest sound; it directly shapes the structure of the track.
BEATEN TO DEATH’s sense of humour is closely tied to this musical disorder. 'Sunburnt Satanist' evokes the familiar vocal character of black metal before returning to grindcore’s breakneck pace. Titles such as 'Satan Spawn, the K-Pop Demon' and 'My Dying Little Pony' make it clear that the band have no qualms about taking aim at metal culture’s clichés. Yet the album’s irreverence does not undermine the seriousness of its music. On the contrary, its references to different genres translate into concrete songwriting choices that explore how riffs, rhythms, and vocal styles can be transformed. Tracks such as 'Fuck the Moon' and 'Memento Sugo' offer further variations on this approach, driven by forceful rhythmic accents, abrupt shifts in movement, and restless guitar work.
Still, packing so many ideas into such a short space of time does not always produce equally successful results. On tracks such as 'The Tolerator', 'Scroll On, Homeboy', and 'Satan Spawn, the K-Pop Demon', the band’s distinctive riffing comes closer to familiar territory. Although BEATEN TO DEATH’s characteristic formulas become more apparent in these passages, the diversity elsewhere prevents that sense of repetition from spreading across the entire record. Moreover, most of the melodic hooks resist being exhausted after a single listen; considered alongside the shifting rhythmic passages, they become the details that make the songs stick in the memory. For this reason, "Vntrve" cannot be reduced to a record that simply seeks out one new sonic or genre-based surprise after another. The brevity of the compositions and the clarity of their underlying structures keep the experimental ideas from overshadowing the music itself.
BEATEN TO DEATH’s seventh album demonstrates that grindcore can retain its speed and directness while taking its boundaries into unexpected territory. Its originality lies less in an attempt to blend different genres into a single melting pot than in the ability to put those elements to functional use within short compositions. Much like a single-panel cartoon that manages to convey an awful lot in one frame. Not every experimental touch is equally effective, but the saxophone’s near-noise approach, groove-driven shifts, and melodic details give the album a distinct identity. "Vntrve" is not a record that tears up grindcore’s rulebook; rather, it explores just how far those rules can be stretched, and makes a convincing case for doing so. BEATEN TO DEATH’s identity, developed over the years, finds its fullest expression in precisely this kind of creative restlessness.
