Agronomicon 1

Album Review: Beaten To Death – Agronomicon (Mas-Kina Recordings)

Carl Fisher 2 min read

Started in 2011 by members of Insense, Tsjuder and She Said Destroy, Oslo-based quintet Beaten To Death immediately eschewed all well-established notions of what grindcore should sound like and set out to create something unique, daring and dangerous. Chaotically funny and massively innovative, the band’s three studio albums, ‘Xes and Strokes’ from 2011, ‘Dødsfest!’ from 2013 and ‘Unplugged’ from 2015 were all 100% recorded live!

Mas-Kina Recordings will now release their new album, Agronomicon on Christmas Eve (December 24th).

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Grindcore. Lets be honest, we all know what to expect by now. A blistering pace, a bastardisation of musical instruments and vocals that sound like someone is throwing up. It can be as bad as it can be good and Beaten to Death walk that line tightly.

They embody all that can be great about grindcore. The intensity and constant shifting that keeps everyone on their toes. However, they also embody all that can be bad about grindcore. The lack of structure, cohesion and coherence.

The band regurgitate bilious noise in chunky streams. It’s astonishing just how feral this record is at times and then it has these moments. These wonderful moments where the fog clears and everything makes sense. It’s like being under water and every so often you’re able to break for air before Beaten to Death drag you back under.

Dere Er Herved Oppløst has one such moment as the guitars play out aN oddity while Bjørnstjerne Ibsen dares to even be a bit rhythmic! This is the stuff that makes Beaten to Death more then just your run of the mill grind band with their tongue in cheek approach.

What they are though is a solid punch to the nads as they spit and snarl through messy slabs of grinding metal with the added punctuation of rhythm sections. Check out Boy George Michael Bolton and Havregubbens Dolk as two very contrasting tracks showcasing Beaten to Death’s metal mentality.

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Beaten to Death – Agronomicon Full Track Listing:

1. Grind Korn
2. Dere Er Herved Oppløst
3. Catch Twentyfvck
4. Bjørnstjerne Ibsen
5. Intro To The Next Song
6. Agronomicon
7. Gå, Snuble, Bli Liggende
8. Extremely Run To The Hills
9. Boy George Michael Bolton
10. Havregubbens Dolk
11. Livet Tar, Og Livet Tar
12. Eternal Punished Septic

Keep up to date with news of the release via Beaten to Death’s Facebook Page.




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Beaten To Death - Agronomicon (Mas-Kina Recordings)
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