Review by Greg on December 19, 2025.

Just two months after the enjoyable Waltz In A Meat Grinder, the imponderable happened – Kebabblast find a vocalist. Just as a quick recap, the band's first instalment was the total opposite of an inept release, blending underground death metal with an uncanny penchant for lead melodies, which carried the music filling the void left by the vocals. Grindfather, Pt. II is the result of some further rehearsals with this third absolute madman, and I was curious to find out how the band intended to make space for him. Maybe a bit worried, actually. What are these, lyrics in English? Boo, sellouts!

Now, seriously, whatever kind of mysterious aura Kebabblast had has been inevitably altered. The new guy employs an array of voices so wide that it's hard to believe it's a single person doing all the work – mainly a dual vocal style of both growls and screams, in true modern death fare, but also spicing things up with several other techniques, including pig squeals that, in light of the artwork, seem quite appropriate after all. He's certainly competent at what he does – I'd say he was chosen for this reason, after all – but it's also hard to call it a unique feature.

The real issue I have with Grindfather, Pt. II is somewhat obvious, though: the song lengths were left more or less unchanged, meaning that something needed to be axed – and, much to my disappointment, it was the guitars that were toned down. That is, the best part back then (okay, the best out of two instruments but anyway...). It's not like they disavowed everything, as 'Anatolic Steroid' or 'Faster Than Your Mama's Lahmacun' see the vocalist growling above one of those melodies, and it works a lot, but they're pretty much exceptions to the rule. Even the riffs, which were sometimes pretty good, mostly blend into the background, suffocated by the incessant vocals. Take 'Grindfather xxx Groundmother' or 'Ballet Of Ballots' as clear examples of this oversimplification – once you remove the growls and screams, you're left with little more than cavernous, brutal chugging which couldn't have managed to snatch a place in Waltz In A Meat Grinder's tracklist. The former is also notable for its final sample lasting for one full minute, which mostly frustrates me since I'm eager to understand what the character is laughing about with this much pleasure. The chunky riff set of 'Mundane Dürdane' and the two blasting loose cannons in the middle are some other modest points of interest.

Luckily, Grindfather, Pt. II is somewhat boosted by its finale, especially the pulverizing deathgrind number 'Meek Meat', with all its (numerous) tempo changes in their right place, and the slightly less ambitious 'Grindfather Part-Ition', ending on one of the band's, um, trademark melodic solos. That makes me build more anticipation for a future third Kebabblast album, which, on the upside, won't make me wait for much time, I guess. In the meantime, I'm getting hungry and who knows why I can only think of kebabs right now...

Rating: 6.5 out of 10