RIPPED TO SHREDS  are a deathgrind band from California and this EP is a follow up to their full length debut album "Bury". The band has a tendency to name all their songs in Chinese and they're sang in Chinese as well so I've used Google translate to help with the lyrics.

The album starts off with "In Mourning" and is a great opening track to get things going. It starts with a slow, atmospheric riff before descending into complete madness just like the protagonist of the song as he appears to fall into a depression after the death of his parents. I love the production on the vocals here as it sounds like Andrew is a beast snarling from a dark cave at the listener. The guitar work is also spot on with a short but sweet solo being a highlight of the track.

Next song is "Pseudoelixir" and I love this track. When I saw it was only 44 seconds long I totally expected this to be an instrumental into the next track which is usually what happens 99% of the time, but no, these crazy bastards actually try and cram a whole song into this short amount of time. 'A' for effort for sure and a fun little track worth a listen as a breath of fresh air.

Penultimate track "Nine Familial Exterminations" is probably my favourite on offer here and the one I would recommend if you're looking to check out the band. It's short at 03:18 and almost starts off like a big SLAYER track to get that thrashing going. It never slows down and is all the better for it as this is one to get the adrenaline going and the circle pits moving like a well oiled machine. That instrumental section during the last 30 seconds is guaranteed to be stuck in your head for the rest of the day.

The final track "Sun Moon Holy Cult, Part 1" is something a bit different as the track nears 11 minutes and takes on a bit of different tone as this has more of a doom metal vibe as those doomy riffs are present throughout. There aren't many vocals here so the instrumental sections have the opportunity to shine, but from what I learned from the translation, this song is seemingly about the protagonist from the first song as he promises his deceased parents that he will live his life to the fullest, pretty much coming full circle which is a nice little touch and not something I expected from such a short EP. It's not slow and doomy for it's total runtime as the pace does pick up at the midpoint with the guitar and drum sections showing off their beauty.  As with a longer track it can be a bit of a risk if not handled correctly and can come across as a drag, but the band pulls it off with gusto with a fantastic final song that keeps the interest of the listener for over ten minutes and leaves them wanting more. When is part 2 coming out anyway?

Overall I had a great time with this EP and only wish we had a fully formed album out of it. While there may be only 4 tracks on offer, every single one of them has something to bring to the table. Two fast paced thrashers, a 44 second blast and an epic closing track are all you need to listen to today. Make sure that you do.