Grotesque Mirth begins with fierce, attacking feedback and fluttering electronics combined with slow, cavernous percussion hits. More noise is carefully added to the toxic mixture as the percussion becomes more pervasive. The feedback takes various forms bringing to mind the cover's presentation of a pallet of grotesque images. The track's movement begins to slow down until it finally comes to a screeching halt.
The b-side fades in as electrical hum crackles throughout your speakers. Sonic attacks periodically take form along with buried maniacal vocals. You could swear the smell of amplifier heat can be made out amidst the decayed electronics pummeling your speakers. The track blends into a humming mass of filthy, metallic-noise and feedback combined with deranged vocals and Mania's trademark metal junk noise until it all blazes away in a trail of feedback.
The 7-inch is a well crafted work of art both sonically and visually. The covers are a true testament to the collage artwork of Mania. The images presented alongside the sonic entity of Grotesque Mirth wallows in filth and depravity like no other artist, culminating in a perverse document on the feeble state of the human body.
Art Edition: The art edition comes with an authentic piece of Mania artwork. My art is on tarpaper measuring approximately 7.5 x 6 inches and uses Polaroid and magazine pictures with red and black paint to create a stark, violent mixture of birth, sex and death. The art edition of Grotesque Mirth is truly a showcase of Mania's artwork that is sometimes as harrowing as the music itself.
