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SHOCK NARCOTIC “My Flesh is Afraid but I am Not”
SHOCK NARCOTIC “My Flesh is Afraid but I am Not”
by Thor
SHOCK NARCOTIC is a grindcore supergroup featuring Jeff Tuttle (ex-DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN), Adam Jarvis (PIG DESTROYER), Shawn Knight (CHILD BITE), and Don Slater (ex-BATTLECROSS). Interestingly, though, this collective doesn’t really play grindcore. In fact, I’m not sure how to describe what they’re doing musically on “My Flesh is Afraid but I am Not”. And that’s a great thing!
SHOCK NARCOTIC came out of the gate hard in 2019 with their debut “I Have Seen the Future and It Doesn’t Work” which was met with near-unanimous critical praise. Unfortunately, though, I somehow missed it, to my huge chagrin, as it dropped during Wormwood’s Year in the Abyss. But, nonetheless, even I knew that “My Flesh is Afraid but I am Not” is the very embodiment of a much anticipated follow up.
So, I was expecting grind. And it’s got some. But it’s largely an eclectic mix of…not necessarily genres…but musical elements that all contribute to an aggressively heavy, creative, and—most impressively—cohesive sound. But it defies comfortable categorization. It doesn’t sound like anything else. And to be able to type those words in the year 2025 is fantastic.
The production here goes a long way towards this album’s successful execution of what could be a chaotic mess in lesser hands. It’s sonically huge. But it’s also full of strange, or, more specifically, unique sonic choices. Usually, this approach is a recipe for disaster, but somehow every choice works. And it all contributes to the album feeling very much like a chaptered dystopian novella in aural form.
There are 13 tracks including a cover of MEATHOOK SEED’s “A Furred Grave”. Some of the highlights include “The Benefits of Being Worm Food”, “Trash for the Pile”, “Slurring Delirium”, and the album’s video single “Oblivion Licker”.
“My Flesh is Afraid but I am Not” is flush with blast beats, d-beats, grooves, gutturals, screams, and fat riffs that will saw off your head. But just not quite in the ways you’re accustomed to. Fans of grindcore, sludge, hardcore, and groove metal will find solace here. Just be prepared to take a few dark turns along the way.
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