Self-Released - 2025
8/10
One of my favorite genres is starting to become "things that are too silly to take seriously" that end up being pretty good anyway. Learning that Grim Discipline is fronted by a dude from Alms and Witch Hazel sort of adds up, but this new project is based about twenty minutes from my own city, being what I can assume is a hilarious play on Transylvanian Hunger (except this is something I actually want to listen to). Pennsylvanian Thirst is the sole EP by this one-man outfit, staying in the blackened speed/heavy metal lane for everything while surprisingly having nuance for its short run. With how competent it is, it's almost hard to just dismiss it as "fun".
All four tracks on Pennsylvanian Thirst mold together by maintaining a gritty overcast from harsh blackened shrieks and a slightly dirty production. Yet, nothing gets compromised in lieu of that, even allowing some bass to rumble into the brook. Opener "Tormentorer" is pretty black/speed by the numbers, but from there everything slows into the traditional backbone with more melody and identity. "Haunt My Dreams" cools things into this, striking with the best solo. "Night Lord" adds a little more of a steady stomp to the stream, utilizing that clear basswork with higher leads to its advantage, before "Financialized" closes us out with Maideny licks breaking back into a speed metal frenzy.
Clearly there isn't a whole lot going on here, but for an EP that came out of nowhere with such weird song titles and an even funnier album title, Grim Discipline is at least onto something. One part of me can't wait to see if it grows into something more, another part hopes this is a one-off little side project that makes a joke and leaves. Maybe the kid that asked me "Is Pennsylvania the Transylvania of the USA" when I went to Romania was onto something.
