4 out of 5

Label: Candlelight Records

Produced by: Craig Boychuk

Remember when you wished those grindcore dudes would just shut up for a bit and maybe get better recording devices?  Or maybe those times you were listening to them wanky instrumental math wizards and you kept hoping they’d stop the infinite scales and finger tapping for a moment to just jam?

Well, let memory serve you up a heaping helping of Electro Quarterstaff’s Gretzky to pave over those frustrating thoughts: the eight track product of three guitarists and a drummer, well schooled in the genres listed above but with the patience and smarts to nab only the pros (as in not the cons) from either, with choice applications of pure rockin’-out riff goodness.  While the reliance on a chugga-chugga backbone has some tracks coming across as rather similar in chunks, once you’ve been through the disc a few times,  the significantly awesome (and awe-inspiring) breakdowns between the grind are plenty to highlight favorite moments or sections from the album.

There’s a slew of this stuff out there, but that only makes it all the more noteworthy when a group can come together and still kick the ass off the scene.