Unbelievable, I would have never thought to see the day that Earache would release anything even remotely interesting on their own label. December proves me wrong, although I wouldn`t have thought so initially. Being under the severe impression that I was dealing with a blackmetal album, I popped it in the CD player with a fresh disinterest. How mistaken I had been.

December are Earache`s hope for a better future. With The Lament Configuration, this band unknown to me until now has released an excellent piece of harsh and vile sounds. The label describes them as grind-metal, but that term doesn`t do them justice completely. Yes, there are definitely some grind-overtones and the music is very reminiscent of Benediction and Gorefest (the latter especially vocalwise) but this band has taken good lessons from the newer batch of hardcore/noisecore bands rampaging through the scene right now.

So even though mixing the music element of Benediction with the frenzied element of modern noisecore doesn`t sound like the utmost perfect match, believe me - December does a fucking great job at uniting them.

Consider them the Drowningman of grind-noisecore instead of rock-noisecore. While not as hook-laden as Drowningman, or not even as technically and mathematically driven as the Dillinger Escape Plan, the songs provide enough interesting twists and turns to keep them in the league. What counts more is the sheer ferociousness of the whole package, of which the vocals are the most remarkable - ranging between Gorefest`ish raw grunts and distorted screams. Their overall attitude is closest to last years brilliant Evanesce album ("Sower Of Sedition").

If you like your music goddamn raw and twisted, what are you waiting for? Don`t hesititate! Buy the album and turn the speakers to max.