Heavy Heavy Low Low’s Pain Olympics is a fever dream of chaos, groove, and unpredictability—a record that balances abrasive intensity with moments of strange, hypnotic beauty. From the opening track, “I’M SO BAD AT GOODBYES,” it’s immediately clear this isn’t just another revivalist mathcore release. Instead of diving straight into sheer heaviness, the band eases listeners in with an ominous bass-and-drum crawl that bursts into fuzzy, hypnotic grooves. Jagged, distorted vocals cut like shards of glass, setting the tone for an album that thrives on controlled unpredictability.
The tension never lets up. Tracks like “CHIP’S JOURNEY” and “COSTCO HIGH” layer frantic screams over blown-out bass tones, pushing a sense of urgency while allowing hypnotic grooves to snake through the noise. Riffs teeter between chaos and precision, especially on “I GO WHERE I’M KICKED,” which manages to feel both unstructured and tightly wound. Even in 90-second bursts packed with gang vocals, off-the-rails riffs, and crushing drums, the music feels maximalist rather than incomplete.
What makes Pain Olympics especially compelling is its duality. One moment, the album is filled with trollish, fried vocal textures and fuzz-smeared dissonance, like “THIZZME SOFTWARE,” and the next it’s surprisingly playful or nostalgic, as on “SOFT & OBEDIENT,” which evokes mid-2000s scene energy through a warped lens. “VOMITED SOUL” hints at traditional structure and groove, while “HOSPITAL BED BLUES” slows the pace for emotionally raw passages, balancing anguished yells with melancholic singing. It’s disorienting, but in a way that draws you deeper into the band’s strange sonic universe.
If the record ever feels like random noise, it’s worth stressing that it isn’t—this is controlled chaos. Tracks like “WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THE WORLD WE LIVE IN” and “PILE OF DEAD DOGS” reveal meticulous attention to arrangement and texture beneath the madness. Even the spastic, beachy grooves of the closer demonstrate the band’s willingness to embrace absurdity without sacrificing impact.
Production plays a huge role in making Pain Olympics effective. Every instrument cuts through the distortion and fuzz: blown-out bass rumbles without muddying riffs, drums remain chaotic yet intentional, and dual vocals—one squeaky, one guttural—balance cartoonish playfulness with genuine menace.
Ultimately, Pain Olympics isn’t about polish or predictability. It’s about leaning fully into unpredictability until it becomes its own form of cohesion. The album is abrasive, funny, ugly, groovy, nostalgic, and unhinged—but every choice feels purposeful. Heavy Heavy Low Low have created a record that feels less like a comeback and more like an alternate timeline of heavy music, where seriousness takes a backseat but intensity reigns supreme.
Pain Olympics is a journey through controlled chaos, a celebration of maximalism, and a showcase of Heavy Heavy Low Low at their most unpredictable, dynamic, and unrelenting.
NOTABLE TRACKS:
I Go Where I'm Kicked
Hospital Blue Beds
Costco High