Phantomsmasher's output is warped and sometimes brutal on the ear -- just the kind of sounds one would expect from
Mike Patton's Ipecac recordings. Even after his involvement in over 80 releases,
James Plotkin continues work on his extreme "music." Much like the previous effort under the name
Atomsmasher, Phantomsmasher combines grindcore with digital hardcore and experimental noise. The drum beats (it's hard to tell what is a drum machine and what is drummer Dave Witte) often spin out into ridiculously fast speeds, not unlike the digital hardcore from
Atari Teenage Riot and
EC8OR. Some of the wild guitar and excessively processed sounds can leave the unexpected listener irritated, but this is what
Plotkin has been after for years. Listeners also get some "audiomulch" vocals from
DJ Speedranch, yet there's little here that resembles a human voice. By the time the chaos is over, you're left wondering if there's any structure to the madness or if these guys are just screwing around with their toys randomly. ~ Kenyon Hopkin