Total Fucking Destruction is whatever it wants to be, which is both its greatest asset and downfall. On the one hand, it’s a perfect outlet for Brutal Truth drummer Rich Hoak’s spastic, jazzy grind drumming: It’s got the flexibility to be a world-scorching grind band, a punky/hardcore bunch of dudes, or a group with an ADD attitude toward time signatures at any point in time. I’ve always posited that they resemble what a grind band started by Devin Townshend would sound like. But like that prospect, its inherent absurdity sometimes undoes the weight the band strives for. TFD sound like no other band out there, but depending on your mood, that can mean either, “Oh!” or “Ugh.” And Hater, their latest (and also their first full length not to feature their name in the title, unfortunately), elicits the same reaction: a patient, tolerant mood lets Hoak’s schizophrenic, speed-addled grind wash over you with the album’s 27 minutes zipping by like nothing, but a testy, irritated one can make the record’s every moment a long one, it’s many dalliances impossible to keep track of. Either way, though, it sounds like little else in metal, and especially grindcore. Total Fucking Destruction’s versatility is most welcome, even if it can grate on some.

Hater starts off in the most straightforward of manners: “Weaponization of Mega-Self” is grindcore with an emphasis on the “core” part, and “Crypto Apoptosis” sprints forward with the same momentum. But over the course of a few songs (so, you know, about three minutes), the band’s eccentricities creep in. The southern-fired riff that bisects “Everything You Need but Nothing You Want” feels perfectly in place; the old school mosh part that takes up 2/3 of the twenty-three seconds of “Murdernumber” does not. By the time “I Not Pose” sets in like an intermission — at three minutes and ten seconds, it could contain almost a half-dozen of selected other tracks on the album — one is already in need of a breather (and a good thing the track is an effective mood-builder, as well). From there, it’s Total Fucking Destruction business-as-usual, which isn’t a put-down. Hoak’s bark and/or ramble over a meaty riff with a blastbeat or bouncy rhythm beneath it is charmingly familiar to those that have been following the band. And like with most grind, if you’re not feeling a song, wait a minute or two (or, often times, less). But unlike with most grind, the band make the few seconds they often spend on a song count. Even when they’re in fast-n-mean mode, they manage to make an impression.

But that doesn’t always work in their favor. While a lot of grind works on an ipecac factor — you’re not supposed to want to stomach these riffs for long, which is why they’re so fast and brief — Total Fucking Destruction is clearly thinking a lot of this out, which makes some of their shorter bursts seem half-baked. But then again, that’s part of the fun. It’s like listening to a friend who’s just seen the Apocalypse begin and trying to follow along as he rambles about what he’s seen and what’s to come. TFD are undoubtedly distinct — to a fault, sometimes — but never fail to impress. There’s not a whole lot tangibly new about Hater – however, it is markedly more aggressive than its predecessor, Peace, Love and Total Fucking Destruction — but having more Total Fucking Destruction out in the world definitely isn’t a bad thing. Though Hoak’s drums became an integral part of Brutal Truth, Total Fucking Destruction is undeniably his through and through. Love it or loathe it, Hater can’t be ripped on for being inauthentic.

(3 out of 5 horns)

-SO