Phobia

The perfect blend of punkers Crass and Utopia Banished-era Napalm Death, Phobia have been massacring audiences with their socio-political crusty grindcore for almost 20 years. And while they’ve yet to realize that even this most extreme of heavy genres has room to evolve, with 22 Random Acts Of Violence, we almost don’t want them to. From the overbearing blast-beats to guttural vocals and shrieks, endlessly crunching guitars and occasional half-time chug, this is the epitome of classic grind. Most songs barely reach the one-minute mark yet still feel complete; it’s like one big ball of sensory overload, which is what grindcore was initially created for. When a band can refuse to advance for two decades and still unleash music so challenging and overbearing, they’ve done something right.