In the record buying community, every once in a while you might get a surprise. In this case, I had ordered a copy of post-hardcore legends Quicksand 2017 album Interiors, and was surprised to find that the seller had also included this ten inch.

Knowing nothing about the group, I popped it on the platter and gave it a spin.

What ensued was 23 minutes of as brutal and chaotic mathcore as I’ve ever heard.

Truth be told, the depth of my metalcore/mathcore knowledge is not difficult to plumb. My experience is limited to the predictable heavy hitters: Norma Jean, Botch, The Chariot, Coalesce…and though Anodyne is an unknown to me (and maybe to everyone—information on this album is scant online), it hits with all the same violence and mania as those bands.

The riffs hit hard, then they hit harder. What few melodic elements are present are dissonant and unnerving. The screamed vocals sound like they’re being pulled right from the singer’s soul. Rhythms turn on a dime, leaving the mosh pit reeling.

It captures the same existential nihilism and angst that drew me to heavy, chaotic music in the early 2000s in the first place. Had I seen them open for a one of my favorite bands in high school, I likely would have rushed to the merch table to grab a shirt.

And while I might not ever buy this record by choice, I am glad to have come upon it by chance.