Drones for Queens

A grindcore duo created by bassist Shane Madden and drummer Evan Madded (the Green Evening Requiem, ex-Woe), Drones for Queen have released a shot across the bow with their debut EP, Health. With gritty, raw production values and plenty of aggression, Health was clearly conceived as a way for the Madden brothers to stretch out and push themselves artistically after spending several years serving as the rhythm section in a series of bands that ascribed to a specific series of constraints. The record has a sloppy, scattershot, almost joyful quality that speaks to both a type of artistic indulgence, but also much-needed freedom. It clanks and clangs a bit, and the vocals are often placed too forward in the mix. But for all its flaws there's a great balance of snarling aggression, embodied best in Evan's blistering double-kick drumming, and a strong melodic sensibility, a tension that's captured best on album highlight "Burden Hand." Drones For Queens are not yet sharpshooters, but on Health, they're luckily armed with buckshot, and though the spray is far from the sniper's neat and tidy work, they nonetheless succeed in messily executing their goals.