Degenerate Synapse - s/t CS
It’s easy to forget the role that geography plays in a band’s sound. Would Napalm Death or Heresy have felt as sincere or relevant if they were from affluent neighborhoods, or if the political climate in England had been more peaceful in the mid to late 80s? Would No Comment, Excruciating Terror, or Dystopia have sounded like they did – or had the same view of the world if it weren’t for the gentrification, displacement, and police violence circling the greater Los Angeles area at the time? At the same time, in a world where so many bands exist on social media and in YouTube videos more than they do in practice spots or basements, it makes sense that we lose focus on the regional aspects of a band’s sound or attitude.
Degenerate Synapse is Chicago, through and through. Born in the unflinching cold of the Midwest, and living both in the same parasitic capitalism that that every working stiff has to endure while managing rising rent, frozen wages, and useless politicians while pundits and talking heads use their home as a ham-fisted example of crime rates or peak neo-liberalism to suit their own narratives and needs. This is a band of veteran misanthropes who have grown more bitter with every passing year; but never too jaded to pack into a storage unit with their likeminded friends to church out nihilistic and brutal grindcore that pays homage to early 00s Willowtip and Relapse Records, with a heavy dose of 90’s death metal, West Coast powerviolence, and the undeniable imprint of their Chicago hardcore lineage (specifically HeWhoCorrupts and Charles Bronson – whose recent “Youth Attack” box set features extensive writing from Degenerate Synapse vocalist and DIY archivist Dave Hofer.)
No gore. No beatdown. No cosplay. This is Chicago grindcore – cold, brutal, and fast as fuck.
Anthems Of The Undesirable Records