This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Metal bands like to brag about how extreme they are. California’s Uphill Battle put the mayhem where their mouth is.
This grindcore outfit’s vocalist Adi Tejada — singer is definitely the wrong word in this case — shrieks as if he’s being skinned alive. While on fire. (Without the lyric sheet, it’s impossible to make out a single word — hell, a single syllable — of superbly titled songs like Next On The Misery List, The Stench Is Spreading and Playing Dead. Even with the lyric sheet, it’s easier said than done.) Meanwhile, the guitarists unleash wave after wave of frenzied chaotic dissonance as the rhythm section flails away with a relentless onslaught of inhuman aggression and punishment. The musical equivalent of a psychotic breakdown, Uphill Battle’s 28-minute debut packs a payload with all the anger and intensity of Dillinger Escape Plan — minus some of the technical razzle-dazzle. Now that’s heavy. Extremely.
