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Grip Inc. - Power of Inner Strength - 1995

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Thursday, July 17: Grip Inc., "Endowment of Apathy"

R.I.P. Gus Chambers (1958-2008)

Grip Inc. always owed a debt to Slayer, and not only because of Dave Lombardo: Waldemar Sorychta’s riffing aimed for more of a Jeff Loomis-style power metal crunch, and often succeeded, but even that description took a few pages from Hanneman and King. Same with Gus Chambers- he didn’t sound like Tom Araya, but his bark had a similar punkish snarl at points. All of this made “Endowment of Apathy” something that could’ve logically been a latter day Slayer track in some respects, except for Chambers’ lyrics which were somehow both more direct and abstract than Kerry King’s hectoring screeds. But Slayer was hugely influential as a matter of course, so once everyone moved past that it was easy to enjoy Grip Inc. on their own terms, especially since they made such a pulverizing racket on their own terms. Lombardo was never not a complete beast on the drums, and he brought a specific musicality to his pummeling as did Sorychta. And Chambers was one of a kind: a truly idiosyncratic frontman, he was so clear in his enunciation, intention and fury that virtually anything he did was compelling. At times the sheer power of their attack verged on overwhelming, and “Endowment of Apathy” could be a bit much for some. But at their best Grip Inc. simply could not be denied, even if they never truly found their footing.