I was a bit concerned when I got the press materials from Grove Street’s The Path to Righteousness (UNFD) as it stated that these English lads were looking to deliver something that blended elements from Hardcore, Metal, Hip Hop and other nineties buzzwords. Hell, I believe the copy read something like “the Beastie Boys with breakdowns, Pantera with prose,” and suddenly a giant exclamation point jolted out of my head like it was a Hideo Kojima production. 

That’s the type of flowery write up that precedes garbage bands like Swollen Teeth, Motograter or some horseshit that a lesser member of Slipknot is trying to sell. But before reaching for the gun in my nightstand I remembered that acts like Faith No More, The Armed and the aforementioned Beastie Boys had figured out musical alchemy by blending styles. “But cohesion, it’s possible if we try” claimed a man in Iowa once. 

Then I pressed play on The Path to Righteousness only to discover that it wasn’t the grand musical experiment it was claimed to be. What Grove Street is doing here isn’t dissimilar to what Leeway tried on Born to Expire or Biohazard with Urban Discipline. 

This is fucking great!

And as a New Yorker I feel slightly offended that no one bothered to tell me that Grove Street was paying homage to such Empire State pioneers. 

“Lessons of the Past” may be mid-tempo but its grooves will certainly leave bruises and bonus points for paying respect to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Both “Born II Lose” and “Sick & Tired” bring the speed but the former features some quite nasty lead guitars, while the latter is strictly rooted in hardcore basics with its abundant gang vocals. 

And then you have something like “T.Y.D.O.” acting like the perfect blend of those two approaches. A hardcore band that moonlights as a Thrash Metal outfit? Wonderful memories of Integrity come to mind. 

Guys just label something for New York fans next time, cos we’ve gotcha. 

Buy the album here:

https://grovestreet.lnk.to/ThePathToRighteousness

8 / 10

HANS LOPEZ