Cripple Bastards’ new 7-inch, Senza Impronte, is out April 24th on Relapse Records.These Italian grind demons spit some of their fastest, most aggressive, and fucking PISSED OFF material ever on this brand new 7" EP! Senza Impronte = total grindcore legends writing legendary grindcore...fucking CRIPPLE BASTARDS MOTHERFUCKER


Some reviews:

The Cripple Bastards are Italians that have been around for almost 25 years playing fast-as-fuck grindcore noise. Their new 7" EP Senza Impronte is so fast that it goes by in a blur like the Tasmanian devil, never stopping to let you catch your breath. In a way this is cool as it's nice to have something fast and furious every once in a while; and when you're in the mood for speed, grindcore will always do the trick! The only problem is that unlike Napalm Death who've managed to keep their sound fresh in adding new instruments and elements, Cripple Bastards don't add much to the formula. As a result this album doesn't do much to stand out from the rest of the grindcore crowd.
Don't get me wrong, Senza Impronte is a good album and the band play excellent grindcore. The problem is that grindcore itself can start to "grind" a bit after multiple listens with blur after blur turning into mere background noise instead of songs that you want to listen to. This is not a fault of the band, more of a problem with the genre itself.
If you're a fan of grindcore check out Senza Impronte for some high quality stuff. The rest of you like me, who don't mind grindcore, will want to refrain from playing this multiple times as your brain may feel like it's been "grinded" after listening.
Puregrainaudio
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Extreme music from Italy is usually coifed with keyboards, frilly shirts or over-songwriting. Sure, there are exceptions–as always–but few truly brutal Italian bands take it to the listener direct-like. Of course, Cripple Bastards, arguably the country’s most infamous (all the adjectives that go with infamous like “controversial,” “disgusting,” “revolting,” “uncouth,” etc.) grindcore outfit, have been dishing out direct-like for two-plus decades, with a dizzying discography to match. That’s right. While Rhapsody, Lacuna Coil and Fleshgod Apocalypse run around in a haute metal disposition, the Bastards’ take on things blasty, crusty, extreme and DIY–though, to be fair, they did record an album at Fredman Studios–is far more common man. No high concepts. Just down-to-Earth, salt-the-Earth grindcore.
Needless to say, we’re psyched as a skateboarder on a vintage Zorlac–yes, I was one and owned my fair share of Zorlacs–that “Senza Impronte,” the title track off Cripple Bastards’ new Relapse Records 7-inch, is streaming right here, right now.
Decibelmagazine
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The Italian punks in Cripple Bastards have been grinding along since the late 1980s, and though they haven't always been among the first bands that come to mind when the sub-genre’s biggest acts are listed, in that quarter-century, they’ve nevertheless managed to quietly and loudly carve out a place in the shadows of the higher ranks of grindcore. Starting out in far sloppier days with their heavily hardcore-indebted full-length debut Your Lies In Check, the Bastards have since morphed into a better-produced, less crust and more polished grindcore outfit, though they’ve lost none of their absolutely raging edge in the process. Senza Impronte, which is Italian for “no fingerprints” when translated via the wonders of the Internet, is a five-song EP, available on 7” vinyl. It’s the band’s first release for Relapse, and it’s the logical continuation of the sound and fury of their last long-player, 2008’s Variante Alla Morte.

Opening with the blast-happy “Regime Artificiale,” Senza Impronte comes out killing, with Der Kommisar’s guitar slicing nicely between Al Mazzotti’s blastbeasts and founding member Giulio The Bastard’s array of vocal screams and grunts and barks. Of the eight minutes of music contained herein, the title track is both the most pummeling and the most memorable – with a killer blasting intro and a swinging hardcore midsection that fit snugly together, ending with a stout riff and as much of a vocal hook as grindcore will ever allow. Between the grind and the punk, it’s a near-perfect pounding distillation of the Bastards’ ethic in two minutes’ time. Combine “Senza Impronte” with the closing punch of “Mondo Plastico” (“Plastic World”) and “Soggetto Leucemico / 10 Fassi Falsi” (“Leukemia Subject / 10 Missteps”) and it’s there that the Bastards’ attack fully hammers home. Of the latter tracks, the former is mostly a minute of hardcore punk, with a sliding and swinging riff to bring it home, while the split-titled closer is more experimental – it flirts with stop-start tempo changes and dashes of dissonant riffage, a la post-millennium Napalm Death’s exploration of the uglier and more angular side of head-aching extremity.

Though only Giulio remains from the band’s dirty beginnings in the Asti hardcore scene, Cripple Bastards’ angry, violent take on punk-fueled grindcore remains intact, noticeably sharper and stouter than in their earliest days. These Bastards are not always the most talked-about grind outfit around, but nevertheless, twenty-five years in, they’re still powerful and supremely pissed-off elder statesmen, and Senza Impronte is further furious proof of their continued vitality.
Written by Jeremy Witt Published on 4/18/2012
Metalreview
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It is no secret that I love technical death metal. Nearly all of my reviews have bands that have been technical in some way. This time we will switch it up and delve deep into the world of grindcore. Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that fuses various elements of death metal, noise, and hardcore punk. At first I was very hesitant, because punk is not a genre I can get into. I quickly realized that these genres mashing together makes a perfect combo of fury, medium to slow grooves, and intensity. This week I was lucky enough to be handed Cripple Bastards E.P. Senza Impronte. These guys hail from Italy, and have put out 7 albums and contributed to work to a staggering 73 splits and compilations. It is safe to say that Cripple Bastards are grindcore heavyweights.
Senza Impronte starts of with an explosion in the form of “Regime Artificiale”. This song opens the E.P. with punishing drum rolls and a quick riff before bringing you to blast beat city. The vocals of this album can go from harsh growls and brutal lows to maniacal shrieking that could decimate a small village. In true grindcore fashion, this song only lasts for 2 minutes. The guitars in this track take inspiration from early thrash and death metal techniques and are adequately written to bring you to your knees. The next song ”Agony of a Reformed Band” introduces itself with an early hardcore punk feel and brings the energy even higher. The tempo is a bit slower but that does not stop them from creating a tornado of grind destruction to lay waste to your ears. Soon after the punk feeling starts to erode your senses, we shift to death metal blast beats and a brute force of low-end riffing. A brief but imposing break ushers you back into blasts and a short burst of drum fills to end the song. The title track “Senza Impronte” begins with a crushing series of riffs and drum fills that throw you into a Behemoth like blast section, which makes the mood of this song is very dark and foreboding. When the punk drums and riffing start in this song it actually takes away from the energy of the rage they created. The blasts come back for a quick second only to end the song and leave you wanting more, and at the mid point of this E.P. I don’t know whether this is a good sign or not. “Mondo Plastico” takes form of a D-beat punk/crust song and to my surprise it’s actually really fucking crushing. At a mere 1:08 long it is amazing how much this song pummels you until the end where the vocalist shouts MONDO PLASTICO. The use of power chords in this song is well executed and makes me think of a dimly lit and tightly packed venue full of stage dives and high fives. “Soggetto Leucemico / 10 Passi Falsi” closes the album with a complete mash up of grindcore characteristics. Cripple Bastards put everything they have into the 1 minute and 5 second palette they used for this song. From the intro of hardcore punk riffing to the mid section with power chords and spoken word this song is truly a gem. Senza Impronte ends in true grind fashion with a fury of blasts and 16th note picking followed by a lone high pitch shriek.
With the release of Senza Impronte Cripple Bastards have given us another reason to love grindcore. They have been on the grind (no pun intended) since 1988, and show now signs of slowing down. For those of you starting a grindcore band buy this E.P. and take notes.
Metalblast