Graf Orlock – End Credits (EP)
Release Date: 23rd June 2023
Label: Vitriol Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Hardcore, Grindcore, Cinemagrind.
FFO: Ghostlimb, Pig Destroyer, Magrudergrind.
Review By: Trina Julian Edwards
On June 23rd, California cinemacore kings, Graf Orlock, will release will their 8th EP, End Credits, which will be the final official release for the band. Since 2003, the band’s founders Jason Schmidt and Alan Hunter have been joined by members of Ghostlimb, Sweat, Dangers, Daisy Chain (and reportedly every other band on the Vitriol Records label), to release a total of 5 LPs and 7 EPs as Graf Orlock.
The sound is an entertaining combination of hardcore punk and grindcore, chock-full of unexpected, but relevant, movie references. Press releases for the band note that End Credits focuses on the apocalypse, with suitably ominous samples and lyrics revolving around the films Snowpiercer, Children Of Men, Mad Max, Dredd, and Waterworld.
The first track is Mega City Blues, based on the 2012 film, Dredd. On a futuristic Earth, the U.S. has turned into a wasteland. The East Coast between Boston and Washington, D.C. has become Mega City One, a crowded, violent slum of 800 million residents terrorized by criminals. The only law is the Judges, police who have the power of life and death. The track starts with samples from the film, wrapping up the line, “Why don’t you step out from behind that doorway or we’re gonna blow the fuck outta you…” And thus begins the relentless onslaught, with deceptively complicated drum patterns and furious guitars that hit like a sledgehammer. The dual vocals are perfect here, giving some added punch to the lyrics. The tempo finally lets you take a good breath around 1:30, but then there’s a nice, riffy groove driving it forward again. The tempo drops once more, with some sweet breakdown elements, bringing that riff back, only slower. You can never go wrong with that move.
The following track, Dead Out of the Sun, features a clip from the 1995 movie, Waterworld, in which the polar ice caps have melted, leaving most of the planet underwater. The track begins with the line, “Let’s have an intelligent conversation here. I’ll talk and you listen…” The drums and guitars drop in immediately after, in that sort of speedy, seemingly haphazard way, almost manic, if you will, mirrored by the anxious screaming vocal line, “the polar ice caps are melting!” The tempo slows down about thirty seconds in, showing off those melodic lines that are juxtaposed nicely with the frenzied rhythms that came before. This morphs into powerful, dynamic riffs before the tempo picks up again in a nod to that insane opening salvo. We’re treated to a suitably dramatic ending, with “the sweet flavor of dry land” while the feedback fades out.
Those Bastards in the Front Sections is based on the 2013 film Snowpiercer. A climate experiment gone wrong has killed almost all life on Earth. The only survivors are the passengers of the Snowpiercer train, constantly circling on its track via the power of a perpetual motion engine. The elites live in luxury in the front cars, while the rest of the population lives in squalor at the tail end. The track begins with a sample of a teacher leading a group of children in a song extolling the virtues of the “sacred engine.” As the children sing about dying if the engine stops, Graf Orlock kick into high gear. This song is pure, aggressive fury with all the speed my punk-loving heart desires. That’s not to say it’s not dynamic; it definitely is, but the anger powering this track never lets up. Even as the tempo slows around the one-minute mark, the brutality seems to be emphasized. The deranged laughter in the background and the final furious growl punctuate just how sadistic and twisted the theme is. Graf Orlock rip through this track with the ferocity of an F5 tornado, and it’s everything that is good and right about the ‘cores.
Next up is Unloading an Unwanted Passenger, inspired by Mad Max, a film series that began with a vengeful cop in a dystopian Australia plagued by violent motorcycle gangs. Per usual, the track starts with a sample from the film: “Paradise! 2,000 miles from here. Fresh water, plenty of sunshine. Nothing to do but breed…” The guitars and drums seem to nonchalantly saunter in, then the vocalist’s growl is the cue to tear the place up. The tempo drops back down again, and it gets super riffy around the one-minute mark. The vocalists yell, “look around you! Now you’re prisoners…” I know we’ve heard these dual vocals in every track, but with the stripped down rhythm behind it, the technique is even more effective. However, the real draw for me was the lead hitting that descending chromatic scale, giving it a kind of bluesy, almost doom-y vibe. The rapid-fire drumming underneath kept the urgency, and that tension between the lead and the rhythm really drove the gritty lyrical theme home.
In the Court of the Crimson King, although it brings to mind the classic King Crimson debut, is actually a reference to the 2006 movie, Children of Men. In the film, worldwide infertility has caused the destabilization of society, resulting in nightmarish military regimes. In the U.K., a former activist turned bureaucrat helps the only known pregnant woman escape London to a join a group of scientists trying to find a cure. Not surprisingly, the theme of this track is a world where humans can no longer reproduce. After a line from the film, “You’re a fascist pig…,” the guitars and drums come crashing in and away we go. There’s some interesting timing in this intro, with stops and starts giving it a staccato edge. The sound is raw and abrasive and the vocals are mostly incomprehensible, but there’s a lot of energy behind them. The track also has some particularly nice dynamics in a song that’s barely over three minutes long, highlighted by a few fairly long legato sections in the middle of the piece. There are some surprisingly melodic leads for a track that screams of violence and desperation, and the dramatic uptempo ending added another layer of texture to an already compelling composition. This track is a fitting ending for the EP and brings the band’s career to a proper close.
Overall, this EP slaps, as the kids say. You have blast beats, heavy distortion, down-tuning, a ridiculously fast tempo, and plenty of yelling and screaming. However, Graf Orlock also deliver when it comes to groove and melody, setting them apart from some of the more typical hardcore and grindcore fare. They never let up on the aggression, though, even when the tempo drops, and this primal fury speaks to the lyrical themes beautifully. If you’re a fan of the core genres, do yourself a favor and check out End Credits. You can thank me later. 
(4 / 5)
