I was in a car accident before that was one of those examples of something hitting you before you even knew it was coming. Luckily, everyone was OK (with the exception of my torn retina that surfaced months later) but it made me skittish for a while when I was driving that at any point, I could be blindsided and not even realize it until I was in it.

Uh, that sounds like an unpleasant way to introduce “Chiaroscuro,” the new record from Iowa grindcore beasts Closet Witch, but taking on their music reminds me of that incident. In a good way, I promise. Over 13 tracks that typically hit you so hard and fast, you can’t even get your footing until the song ends and the next begins suddenly, it’s like being thrown for a loop you can’t hope to anticipate. It’s a breathless yet thrilling attack that the band—vocalist Mollie Piatetsky, guitarist Alex Crist, bassist Cory Peak, drummer Royce Kurth—mounts to overwhelm and shock systems. Joined by a slew of killer guests (we’ll get into those below), this record decimates you, leaving you writhing on the floor having never witnessed the runaway train that left you a mess on the pavement.

“Intro” opens amid noise and dramatic sounds, the pressure building and doom dropping, leading into the buzzsaw that is “Constantly Problematic” that’s a total sonic assault. “Trapping them in cages, festering, children,” Piatetsky howls, “but this is not what the blue sees, they think they better this place.” Fury grinds as shrieks maim, blasting into “Haunting” that’s absolutely on fire when it dawns. The playing pulverizes as the heat gets incredibly intense, ripping out in mashing horrors. “And Releasing” features Frankie Furillo of The Central, and it steamrolls on complete madness, massacring with a thrashy pace, Piatetsky wailing, “Now is the time to bloom and stop feeling like I’ll forever be swallowing this pill you snuck me.” “My Words Are Scared” has Dylan Walker of Full of Hell contributing, the playing totally ripping, the drums battering everything in their path, the ferocity coming on relentlessly with the sludge collecting at the end and choking arteries. “Infinite Imbalance” is the first of two tracks here to feature Stu Cline, formerly of Ice Hockey, and it explodes with mangling shrieks, fiery heat roaring from every crease. “Weight of the cups, burnt into the palm of one hand, like an imbalanced scale,” Piatetsky howls, the muddy fury increasing and leaving ample bruising behind.

“You, Me & My Venus in Decay” features Dan Lee of Wanderer, Lungs, and Northless, and it’s a crusher, monstrous howls buckling, a tempered pace eventually taking over, landing punches before exploding. Scathing destruction runs rampant, and the call of, “My goddess will unleash her wrath, her pain, who is she? Be honest, fall to her on your knees,” chewing into your ribs as the final surge burns away. “Arlington Cemetery” is unhinged, mauling terror knifing toward you, feeling thrashy and catchy, viciously bludgeoning as it stalks you. “Well Fed Machine” brings a lightning assault that’s completely unglued, mauling with precision, sharpening its teeth and sinking into muscles. “We Met on the Park Boundary Trail” has noise hanging in the air before the playing guts, shrieks slam down with force, the vocals corroding and melting flesh, spilling guts on the floor. “Funeral Flowers” is skull splitting, the sludge bubbling to the surface, pounding with menace as Piatetsky calls, “Longing and wishing to see your face, longing and wishing to hear my name, longing and wishing to see your face.” “To the Cauldron” has Cline returning, and it’s the longest track here at 4:07. The track opens and slaughters, the shrieks scrape as Piatetsky howls, “I’ve reached to her, my mother, my crone, I need the nurture, I crave the light, warmth and the knowledge, I need her to tell me I’ll be alright.” Sounds boil as a haze rises behind the chaos, hanging like a storm cloud, disappearing into eerie winds that briefly soothe from the scorching you just withstood. “Outro” is a final gasp that rolls in on charred guitars, industrial clashing, and a fuzzy swarm that disappears into a fog.

Closet Witch leave everything on the table on these 13 tracks that create a barnstorm of grindcore brain mangling that punishes you sonically and pushes you mentally and emotionally. “Chiaroscuro” surely balances the light and dark on this record, giving you a band that’s delivering its bleeding heart onto a cold slab in front of you, still pumping and gushing with energy. While this record might blast by in no time, it leaves an indelible mark deep within you as you confront the struggles in your own life and try to do your best to face the fire blasting toward you.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/closetwitchband/

To buy the album, go here: https://shop.momentofcollapse.com/

For more on the label, go here: https://www.facebook.com/momentofcollapse/