Gridlink – Longhena (Handshake Inc)

Gridlink – Longhena (Handshake Inc)

Longhena, Gridlink’s third album, marks the conclusion of a long and storied creative arc. The band’s mercurial frontman, Jon Chang, made his name singing for the influential ’90s grind act Discordance Axis, who were among the first to introduce artsy aesthetics to metal’s most unforgiving subgenre. Though he’s the only holdover from that band’s lineup, Gridlink have carried on much of that band’s distinctive feel — graceful but scarily athletic, like an Olympic gymnast. In an interview earlier this year, Chang told me that he considers Longhena his best work. Chang has now retired from music; the band’s guitarist and songwriter, Takafumi Matsubara, has also been forced out to pasture by a debilitating brain infection. Sad on both scores, but this album is a fitting final testament: Its 22 minutes balance beauty and viciousness more delicately than just about any grindcore ever recorded. –Doug [LISTEN]