THE GRASSHOPPER LIES HEAVY: “HEAVY”

(Here we have Todd Manning’s enthusiastic review of a new album by Texas-based The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, which is set for release on November 14th by Learning Curve Records.)

The Grasshopper Lies Heavy is the two-headed brainchild of founder and frontman James Woodward. One head is the cinematic, post-rock band responsible for releases such as We Shouldn’t Be Here and the 2017 film soundtrack Cavern. The second side of the band is the pummelling, nasty metal behemoth responsible for the group’s latest, the aptly titled HEAVY.

There’s no attempt to marry the two identities here. HEAVY specializes in mid-tempo assaults, lethal grooves, and cathartic explosions. They rip out of the gates with “Human Claymore” and “Lyrics Are Hard”, two tracks of vicious stomps. What these lack in tempo variation, they make up for in powerful, nuanced riffing. There is an efficiency to The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, each riff sounds like it has been created and shaped organically, not tech per se, but full of detail. It’s the sort of riff-writing acumen that made Mastadon’s Remission so infectious, but here it is filtered through the pummeling power of early Coalesce.

photo by Oscar Moreno

“We Are All the Antichrist” adds a new wrinkle to the sound; the same relentless mid-tempo attack is now screwed and chopped into odd-time signatures, doubling down on the nastiness. Think of the divisive Napalm Death record Fear, Emptiness, and Despair (a great album in my opinion) mixed with the filth-ridden sound of Unsane. The angularity of this track exponentially increases the intensity level.

The rest of HEAVY alternates between the rocking heaviness and the off-kilter nastiness. “Tallow Man” is an excellent example of the former, the Mastadon vibe now with a nod to the Melvins, like the two locked in a drinking game, while “Cure 1997” proves much harder to grasp in a good way. Here we are treated to more of the angular attack, early Coalesce and Converge influences spiraling in on themselves, powerful and a bit confounding in a good way.

The album culminates with the instrumental, “Maze”. Here, the angular and the more straightforward meld together and emphasize the true strength of the record. The Grasshopper Lies Heavy lives and dies by the riff. With a limited tempo range, they make every riff count; nothing sounds generic or like filler, nothing tossed in quickly just to bridge to better sections. It’s efficient, every note counts.

This is my first exposure to The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, but they have made a strong impression. HEAVY lives up to its name, and a quick perusal of their more ambient material on other records reveals they are worth exploration as well. With a decent back catalog, there’s plenty here to dig into, not to mention I’ll be anxious to hear what comes next.

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