I’m gonna keep this short, because that’s what Hayaino Daisuki do. Especially considering lead esophagus scraper Jon Chang’s pedigree as leader of defunct concept-grinders Discordance Axis, the four tracks on Hayaino Daisuki’s second EP, The Invincible Gate Mind of the Infernal Fire Hell, or Did You Mean Hawaii Daisuki?, keep it pretty simple — Iron Maiden-style thrash, performed at illegal speeds and subject to the pterodactyl shriek of Chang or (on “Kirei”) new harpy Michelle Bowlin. And yet by dint of its ludicrous tempo, The Invincible Gate Mind forces us to re-consider our understanding of how our brains process sound over time. At what point is a riff or bass drum roll played so fast that it becomes a constant stream of sound? How can an album just over twelve minutes long be so tiring? And what happens when you cram an eight-minute epic into just 2:20?

There’s no small amount of cognitive dissonance in hearing an album this catchy nearly swallowed by its extreme obsession with speed. It doesn’t quite get to that point though, because this band is entirely in control for all twelve of those minutes. Takafumi Matsubara’s leads rule too hard, Eric Schnee’s drumming feels a little too controlled for this The Invincible Gate Mind to sublimate completely. It’s damn near close though. Consider this EP a violently abbreviated micro-dispatch from your friends in Hayaino Daisuki, the musical equivalent of a tweet in all caps.

(3 outta 5 horns)

-SR