GridLink

Photograph: Jason Hellmann

The Charleston; Thu 14

It may seem paradoxical, but the hardcore-metal hybrid known as grindcore is a music of subtlety. Now as during its ’80s infancy, the genre is built around dire shrieking, hyperspeed riffs and jackhammer drumming. But GridLink’s debut, Amber Gray, demonstrates that the style’s monotonous veneer can disguise wondrous variation at the microscopic level. When the blisteringly precise trio, fronted by ex–Discordance Axis vocalist Jon Chang, kicks into a triumphant half-time groove on “Pattern Recognition,” the effect is glorious. Even though it clocks in at a mere 15 seconds, this downshift still seems proportionally generous, given that the 11-song album itself lasts just under 12 minutes. And according to the band’s MySpace page, attendees shouldn’t expect this performance to go more than 15.

But even such a brief audience with GridLink should be treasured: Thursday’s show is one of only five planned for this year by the trio, whose members are split among New Jersey, Texas and Japan. Such logistical idiosyncrasies reflect Chang’s eclectic personal aesthetic, one that spreads far outside the realm of grindcore. In Discordance Axis, he eschewed the genre’s typical antigovernment rants for more philosophical topics (“Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said” borrowed its title from a Philip K. Dick novel). Currently Chang divides his time between GridLink, his mutant-thrash project Hayaino Daisuki—also appearing tonight—and Studio Grey, an experimental animation and video-game design company. It all informs a decidedly 3-D spin on a seemingly one-dimensional art form.