F**k The Facts

In grindcore's answer to the road movie (sort of), Fuck The Facts wrote its new album, Disgorge Mexico, while taking a group road trip from its Ottawa home to northern Mexico. As the popular expression goes, though, the point wasn't so much the destination as it was the journey itself. According to guitarist/bandleader Topon Das, Disgorge doesn't actually bear any direct travel influence, but vocalist Mélanie Mongeon's lyrics suggest, at the very least, a far more expansive worldview than what she and her bandmates showed on 2006's Stigmata High-Five, which established FTF as a force to be reckoned with among extreme metal's new elite. While some grind acts bend over backwards to push the envelope, FTF still manages to stand out — and make a case for grindcore as art — without trying too hard. Das and drummer Mathieu Vilandré have a knack for playing fresh-sounding grind with the energy of a thrash band and a sly, almost hidden sense of rhythmic sophistication. Meanwhile, Mongeon graces the music with her unique, instantly recognizable voice — a priceless element in this genre. This time around, FTF slows down considerably and even works in some classic rock-style riffing, but the change isn't as dramatic as, say, Carcass' Swansong. And, much as the band might play it down, the anxiety about cultural hegemony that bubbles up through the screeching grind attack gives American audiences pause to take notice of our neighbors to the north, even as FTF gazes southward to Mexico on a road that never ends.