TMR: Sully Self Titled

The chaotic, entertaining and fun sound of Sully has officially captivated me. They’re a disgusting new wild grindcore band out of Rochester. It’s a 60+ minute trip from Buffalo so I occasionally catch some ChaCha shows and checked out their live debut. I then caught them a few more times including last night Friday June 13th. They were supporting our city’s best band Inertia at Buffalo Iron Works. Their self titled debut album spans 12 songs over a not so shocking 25 minute runtime.

The insanity begins with vocalist Adam (ex/current Psyopus?) who’s an entertainer on top of a vocalist. He does the worm, handstands, chugs beers and belts all his agony into every performance. I was into the band from the beginning and like the album, but that live performance last night really pushed it over the edge for me. I connected with their frantic style more and the band was mixed well. I then promptly revisited the album and was like “Hell Yeah”.

Then, there’s more Rochester power. The guitarist Erik Burke is a member of Sulaco, one of the city’s finest bands. He also spent time in Napalm Death (live), Brutal Truth, Lethargy, Blurring, Nuclear Assault and Kalibas. His unique riff style and playing stands out in this band as well. Current Sulaco bassist Ed Jusko is in Sully as well. Drummer Alex Perez (ex Sastruga and ex Dissonant Seepage) is handling drum duties for Sully.

The rhythms are absolutely bonkers on this record. While being consistently fast, there’s some really nasty pocket grooves. The riffs are what you’d expect from grindcore but with even more attitude. They have a little punk influence sprinkled in there for good measure. Perez’s drumming is everything I’ve expected from his past bands considering how capable he is. It’s a very solid and concise grindcore record. Catching them live last night again really clicked with me than being another band. Oh, and they’re signed on Horror Pain Gore Death Productions.

Give it a chance if you dig anything extreme. It’s an energetic, heavy, fast yet groovy album. In classic grindcore fashion it goes by so fast you need to listen to it a few more times. It’s such a chaotic experience don’t hesitate to catch them live. It will be well worth the price of admission.