EP REVIEW
LENG TCH'E - Hammered Into Collapse
Groove-driven grindcore with crushing death metal.
It has taken almost nine years for new studio material from Belgium's LENG TCH'E to finally arrive. Despite remaining active on the live circuit, the band had released no new recordings since 2017's "Razorgrind". Now approaching their twenty-fifth anniversary, they have returned with this brief two-track release. At just 4 minutes and 55 seconds, it can hardly satisfy expectations for a substantial comeback. Nevertheless, there is enough here to demonstrate that the razorgrind approach the band has spent years refining remains as effective as ever.
Opening track 'Hammered Into Collapse' brings together the sharp transitions between death metal and grindcore with rhythmic elements rooted in hardcore. The dirty, weighty riffs delivered by Jan Hallaert's guitars are kept in constant motion by blast beats and double-kick-driven drum passages, but the song's momentum is not built on speed alone. Groove, one of LENG TCH'E's defining characteristics, provides a rhythmic foundation even during its fastest sections. Serge Kasongo's harsh, guttural vocals complement the aggressive character of the instrumentation rather than sitting above it as a separate layer. The rhythmic shifts in the heavier passages amplify the impact of the faster sections while bringing additional weight to the guitars. Particularly towards the closing stretch, the emergence of a memorable riff demonstrates that even a composition this short can leave room for a strong melodic imprint.
'Voided' begins with comparable intensity but favours more clipped, staccato guitar riffs. This approach provides an important distinction between its rhythmic structure and that of the opening track. Olivier Coppens' drumming reinforces these sharp guitar transitions, with the snare hits particularly prominent. Kasongo's vocals take on a darker, more demonic character, pushing the music's aggression in a different direction. Groove is even more pronounced here, while an atmospheric passage towards the end briefly steps outside the familiar grindcore framework. The closing section that follows demonstrates that the song is not built exclusively around speed and aggression, making room for contrasting dynamics even within its limited runtime.
The differences between the two tracks prevent the release from feeling unnecessarily repetitive despite its brevity. While 'Hammered Into Collapse' revolves more around internal collapse and psychological reckoning, 'Voided' expands that darkness into a broader, destructive and apocalyptic framework. The lyrical themes of wasted time, denial and mental disintegration complement the music's abrupt tempo shifts and fragmented rhythmic structures. As a result, the two compositions do not simply function as consecutive examples of the same sound; they become two distinct but complementary forms of expression.
The production also reinforces the band's musical identity. Recorded by Lander Cluyse at Hearse Studio, the material gains considerable weight through Taylor Young's mix and Brad Boatright's mastering. The fullness of the sound intensifies the combined impact of the guitars and rhythm section without stripping away the music's raw character. The tight performances also prevent the rapid transitions from descending into uncontrolled chaos. LENG TCH'E's longstanding tendency to draw from multiple genres is equally evident here. Death metal's weighty riffing, grindcore's velocity, hardcore's rhythmic aggression and occasional riffing reminiscent of stoner rock never feel like disconnected elements. Their combination remains at the heart of the musical identity the band defines as razorgrind.
That said, after almost nine years of silence, 4 minutes and 55 seconds of new material inevitably leave the listener wanting more. Both compositions are effective in their own right and sufficiently distinct from one another, yet the atmospheric space opened up during the closing section of 'Voided' suggests that the band has other possibilities worth exploring in longer compositions. This is better understood as a limitation imposed by the short format than as a shortcoming in the material itself. Its intensity leaves little room for broader musical development.
"Hammered Into Collapse" reasserts the razorgrind identity LENG TCH'E established over the years without reducing it to a nostalgic exercise. What truly distinguishes the band is its ability to combine grindcore's speed, death metal's weighty riffing and hardcore's sense of groove without allowing any one of these elements to overshadow the others. Rather than representing a radical reinvention or a major turning point in the band's discography, this brief release stands as a successful comeback that confirms the continued relevance of LENG TCH'E's distinctive musical language. It also leaves us looking forward to a new full-length all the more.
