Facts are facts and EXTREME NOISE TERROR are one of the forefathers of extreme music as we know it. The kind folks at Candlelight Records have decided to issue a compilation of the band’s early releases, including the great A Holocaust in Your Head. EXTREME NOISE TERROR smash through 21 songs of raw energy, youthful enthusiasm, and anti-establishment sentiment that helps to lay down the blueprints for not just the genre of grindcore but hardcore punk/crust, death metal, and extreme metal that followed. Seriously, it’s impossible to count the number of instances where this band’s influence can be heard elsewhere.

Despite being recorded in the late 1980’s, these songs still sound fresh, exciting, and state of the art. This is beyond mere hardcore punk played at hyper speed but the birth of a new genre of extreme music. The pure ferocity and abrasiveness is a beautiful thing to behold. Vocalists Dean Jones and Phil Vane (RIP) sound like out of control madmen on the loose as opposed to just conventional crust singers who simply shouted. The chaotic drumming is unconventional and revolutionary for its time. The riffs here define the term “crossover” in a descriptive sense as they can be across so many subgenres of extreme music.

With each song clocking in around the two minute mark, the band loudly and succinctly make their point. Simply put, this is a collection of great, memorable songs. While there are a ton of great contemporary bands, you can’t beat the originals. Holocaust in My Head is mandatory music. (Candlelight Records)