ALBUM REVIEW: Subnormal Dives – Byonoisegenerator

While mixing jazz and extreme music may be old news to some of the more discerning metal fans out there, no band has ever done it like Russian quintet BYONOISEGENERATOR. With abrasive grindcore colliding with avant-garde jazz, the group’s latest album Subnormal Dives is a challenging yet exhilarating experience.
While heavier acts throwing in a sprinkling of jazz isn’t unheard of, BYONOISEGENERATOR take the concept to its logical extreme by stacking unpredictable sax and jazzy drums on top of their harsh grindcore. Their second album Subnormal Dives isn’t for the faint of heart, launching a barrage of chaotic noise at the audience which only rewards the most fearless or masochistic listener.



While BYONOISEGENERATOR are hardly aiming for a wide audience, there are a handful of unexpected choices that narrow their target listener into an extremely specific niche. The Saint Anger style trash can snare for example may put off some listeners with its harsh bounce that cuts through the mix like a pickaxe or the oddly placed math rock inspired tapping on deBroglieNeverExisted that sticks out in the jazzy groove in a way that could either come across as intentionally mismatched or a little messy. Although any sane person would be put off well before noticing these small annoyances, the same kind of deranged maniac that would willingly listen to an album as strange as Subnormal Dives is bound to nitpick a few inconsistencies.

Subnormal Dives is the kind of challenging listen that should be included in Navy Seal training programmes, clashing together two already difficult genres into a migraine inducing cacophony. For the tiny fraction of the population who can push past the initial shock of BYONOISEGENERATOR’s sound there’s plenty of tight performances and fascinating musical choices to pick through from the comfort of their windowless padded cells.

Rating: 7/10