Neither of these longstanding fan-favorites are strangers to splits, EPs, and 7"'s. Melt-Banana, as everyone knows, brings their chaotic mix of japanese fronted, arty hardcore punk with scattershot speed. Now if you haven't heard The Locust, obviously, you've been dead for the last few years.
The Melt-Banana side offers two new songs that show off a little bit more of their fast, thrash sounding guitars and drums, and don't retain as much of the experimentalism as their past material. The first song, "Too Rough To Scoop (Find A Grain Of Greed)", starts off with some strange electronic/guitar noises before going into a fast, 9 Shocks-esque riff, which breaks into a more traditional Melt-Banana chorus. The second song, "Creeps In A White Cake", begins with a pretty crazy intro that goes into a section full of alternating experimental and groove parts. A good song, but outdone by the first track. All in all, it's Melt-Banana. You know it's going to be fast, slightly experimental, and all out craziness. Great side.
Not much to say about the Locust after their self-titled 3" CD/LP. The keyboards have been turned down, guitars and drums turned way up, and the vocals take a turn in the direction of more modern thrash sound. The entire length of the side, the guitars switch back between maybe 3 or 4 chords at most, with the keyboards making somewhat random sounds, and the drums doing simple periodic blast beats. Basically, if you own the self-titled LP, you've heard the best of The Locust, and only if you enjoy somewhat bland thrash with "bubbling" keyboard effects in the background should you listen to this. But in defense of The Locust (who really are a talented group at times, and put out that amazing LP), the last song on their side, entitled "The Half-Eaten Sausage Would Like To See You In His Office", is one of the best I've heard from this band. That song alone definately saves this side from total annihilation. If you're a fan of the later Locust stuff, you'll love this side, but don't expect anything like the S/T LP.
Overall, a good 7" that has some very intense parts and good songs, but nothing groundbreaking. I would not recommend this split for people just getting into these bands, but if you're a diehard fan or just happen to be at a record store with a few extra bucks, pick this up, it's worth it (for the most part).