This is one of my favorite albums of all time, and if hard pressed & with a gun to my forehead I could maybe name it as THE favorite of all time and have at least a 33% chance of survival.
This was Gridlink's third full-length release, but in all honesty the debut and sophomore albums were more of a warm-up for the glorious chaos of "Longhena". It is the apex of Jon Chang, formerly of grindcore luminaries Discordance Axis. His tortured shrieks, just on the cusp of shattering apart, are vividly matched up by the lightning fast guitar work of Takafumi Matsubara who does the work of two and a half men all by himself. It is brutal, and fast, but also marked by delicate beauty and melody on a knife's edge. From the upbeat intro of the opener "Constant Autumn" to the bittersweet violin-tinged outro of "Look To Windward", Longhena is a chaotic whirlwind of regret and hope. I fucking love it, and would not have it any other way.
Gridlink's new album is dropping in about three weeks. I am honestly anxious about it. There have been several singles released so far but I have abstained for now: I am really, and maybe unrealistically, hoping to get a pummeling like "Longhena" in one go when it does happen
In the meantime, listen to "Longhena".
Weeks came and passed, and suddenly it was the release date for probably the single most expected album of my lifetime. And... it's fucking aces.
"Longhena" was a bittersweet goodbye from a band seemingly forced to call it quits by forces majeure. "Coronet Juniper" starts off as a jubilant reunification that in its sub-20 minute duration descends down to the pits of our shared reality. Longhena was intersped with a haunting violin melody in interludes and on the final track: Coronet Juniper starts with playful drum patterns and sunny riffs, but as it progresses it drags down further and further into baser forms of grind, all blast and guitar wall... but where "Look To Windward" ended on regret and tears, Coronet Juniper's closer "Revenant Orchard" has that same ethos of sunshine and rebirth from the first track peek through on the last half of the song. From despair, hope.
and yes they once again include karaoke versions of all the songs because who wouldn't want to hit any of these at the local bar
