Attan are from Norway and play Hardcore/Post-Hardcore. This is their début EP.
Coming across as an unholy mix of bands like Vision of Disorder, Will Haven, Converge and Neurosis, Attan are heavy and intense.
This music is dark and visceral, containing a primal rage and destructive intensity. The songs are passionate exemplars of heaviosity that pay tribute to their influences while making their own way down the ill-lit avenues of dark Hardcore; Continue reading “Attan – From Nothing (Review)”
Chronoboros are from Greece and play Sludge-fuelled Hardcore. This is their début EP.
Chronoboros play a mix of Sludge/Hardcore that shares some features of Alternative Metal and Noise Rock in its sideways approach. It reminds me of the early-to-mid-90s style in some ways, albeit with a modern delivery and a distinct personality all of its own.
Combining elements of bands such as Fudge Tunnel, Association Area, Kowloon Walled City, No Anchor, Helmet, The Dillinger Escape Plan and a plethora of others, this is an interesting and enjoyable release that shows that a band can be inventive while still having the capacity to rock out hard.
The music is complex and involved. It has a lot of depth and layers to it meaning that although these songs are quite short they make a good impression. Heavy sections compete for space with less-conventional parts and there’s a lot of good ideas on this EP that are barely explored before the band hop off once again on another exploratory trip into their unusual world.
The vocals combine harsher screams with more unusual semi-spoken vocalisations. It works a treat and is thankfully the right side of quirky.
There’s a lot of talent and promise on this release. It’s only 15 minutes long, so what excuse do you have for not checking it out?
That’s what I thought.
Vision of Disorder are a US Hardcore band. This is their sixth album.
Hardcore veterans Vision of Disorder return and from the off it’s riffs, riffs and more riffs as the singer snarls and the production crushes. I’ve been a huge fan of this band ever since their amazing Imprint album came out way back 1998. They’ve had some ups and downs over the years, but they’ve always delivered the goods in one form or another.
Razed to the Ground is what Vision of Disorder do best – a condensed explosion of violence and melody. These songs allow the listener to get wrapped up in pummelling grooves, high-energy riffs and a performance so pumped up it will tear your face off before it even realises what it’s done.
Ostensibly a band like Vision of Disorder should be a run-of-the-mill Metalcore band with no distinguishing features to set them apart from hordes of similar bands, except for their higher profile and length of service. In reality though, the atypical riffs, interesting melodies, Hardcore ferocity and pure passion that the band exude mean that they are very much greater than the sum of their parts.
These songs have catchines and hooks in spades. As well as all of the obvious, high-impact immediate stuff here, there’s also a deeper subtlety and nuance displayed on some of the tracks that merely adds to the album’s longevity.
I’ve always loved the singer’s voice. His screaming snarls sound like anger personified when he really lets rip, and his cleans always have a certain edge to them that made them stand out from most of the more commercial/weak sounding cleans used by a lot of their peers. He’s on top form again on this release and it seems he will never run out of steam. Here’s hoping.
This is a strong new album from these Hardcore stalwarts.
Highly recommended.
This is the third album from Swedish Atmospheric Sludge/Post-Hardcore band Moloken.
This is Cult of Luna/Isis-inspired Post-Metal that has been combined with Converge-style Post-Hardcore to create individualistic songs that are sharp, nasty and boiling with heated darkness.
Caustic, throat-shredding screamed vocals provide a brutally simple focal point to the apocalyptic music. The band are here to sow darkness and reap pain. Their music is a dense, claustrophobic affair, ripe with urban decay and full of disturbed interest for the observer to become upset by.
Varied and nuanced, there are a lot of good ideas on display throughout these 29 minutes and Moloken make the most of the relatively short playing time by filling the album with bleak sounds that captivate and enthral.
Equal parts Sludge, Hardcore and dark atmosphere, All Is Left to See is enjoyable and recommended.
Lambs are an Italian blackened Hardcore band and this is their début EP.
You gotta love Blackened Hardcore. A sub-genre that takes the best of the violence and darkness from Hardcore and Black Metal? Yes please! This style is getting more and more popular and has already resulted in a plethora of good bands such as Hexis, Plebeian Grandstand, Dark Circles, Ancst, Cowards, Funerals, Protestant and Flesh Born, to name just a few. Some bands go slightly more one way or the other, while others, like Lambs, meet both genres in the middle. That, and a bit of Post-Hardcore thrown in for good measure.
This is a quality little release that showcases what Lambs are capable of, and it seems that they should have big things ahead of them if they can keep this level of quality control and intensity up for a full album. Well, big things for a small sub-genre at any rate.
The aforementioned intensity doesn’t mean it’s a Blackened blast fest, (although they can blast when they need to); Lambs have a darkly emotive and fanged assault that never lets up regardless of the speed they play at. In this way they can be compared to any number of modern violent Hardcore bands, as they keep on pushing and pushing with the relentless riffs, to make sure their point is rammed home; be this by straight forward assaults, dirge-fuelled slower sections or angular, atypical melodies. Lambs cover all of the bases.
There’s only three songs here but contained within them is a lot of dark intent and malevolent ambition. As calling cards go this is up there with the best of the style and I can’t wait to see what they do next.
Play at full volume.
Fredag Den 13:e are from Sweden and this is their third album. They play Hardcore.
This is aggressive music that’s fuelled by Crust and and d-beat Hardcore. If you like bands such as Skitsystem, Disfear and Martyrdöd then you’re in for a treat here.
Fredag Den 13:e have plenty of groove and rhythm to their sound and a strong recording brings out the best of them. Everything is solid and immediate, which is the kind of impact a band of this type requires.
The songs are catchy and emotive, which is a lethal combination. There are great riffs in abundance and the band have a large amount of energy that they siphon into the songs. A lot of the guitars feature aggressive melodies that sound quite apocalyptic, so much so that Domedager could almost be the soundtrack to the end times after civilisation has fallen.
The singer has a scathing voice and he screams his way through these 36 minutes like a focused ball of rage that nonetheless manages to convey emotion and charisma alongside the vicious diatribes.
One of the things I love about this release is that the songs have this relentless energy that drives them forward. Add to that the emotive, dynamic riffs and songwriting…well, we have a winner here for sure.
This is not a band I was aware of prior to writing this review, but it turns out they could be one of Sweden’s best kept secrets. It’s time to change that – listen to Fredag Den 13:e and get ready to be impressed.
August Burns Red are from the US and this is their seventh album. They play Modern Hardcore.
I haven’t encountered August Burns Red since their 2011 album Leveler, and it seems that they continue to produce quality music that combines elements of Hardcore, Melodic Hardcore and Metalcore into a user-friendly package.
The band somehow manage to be heavy and accessible at the same time, while crucially displaying their own personality and charisma. No matter what they do, they retain their own identity throughout the 53 minutes on offer here and take the listener on a comprehensive journey that shames most of their one-dimensional peers.
The album opens with a bang and the singer’s vocals sound angrier and gruffer than ever. It’s an instant reminder of why August Burns Red are still relevant and exciting in a music scene where a lot of similar bands are shedding their heavier roots for more radio-friendly climes.
One thing I love about this band is how they combine heaviness and melody in such an appealing way. This style of music is usually rife with generic pap, cliché deliveries and boring, done-to-death repetition and I’m always amazed and impressed when bands playing this style manage to avoid all of these, as August Burns Red do on Found in Far Away Places.
The songs have a lot of recognisable elements that mark them out as subtly different from the masses of bands playing this style. I think the crux of it is that the riffs, breakdowns, melodies, leads, etc. here are just that much better than the norm; August Burns Red are just plain better than most bands of this ilk. Couple that with the fact that they have little moments of experimentalism and interesting ideas, as well as a lot of personality and charisma, and you can easily see why they are leaders and not followers.
After this many releases the band totally know what they’re doing and still have that essential passion for the music which appears completely undimmed. The songwriting is tight and focused without seeming forced or staid.
Top marks for a band who are not afraid to be themselves, try new things and above all remain heavy and relevant. August Burns Red have returned and I for one could not be happier.
Witch of the Waste are from Canada and this is their latest EP. They play violent Hardcore.
With some amusing song titles and an album cover that’s oddly disturbing, this is 14 minutes of intensity that’s almost guaranteed to fuck you up.
Full to the brim of technical frenzy and passionate delivery, Witch of the Waste are an exciting brand of Extreme Metal that incorporates aspects of Death Metal, Grindcore and dark Hardcore into their volatile mix.
This is not music that’s purely of the ultra-chaotic variety, although they do have that aspect to their sound; rather, there is a controlling intelligence to the mayhem that tells the players to either let loose or restrain themselves. Dynamics are important and Witch of the Waste have this locked down, seemingly able to hold themselves back or unleash chaos on-demand.
The vocals are savage and abrasive, with insectile screaming and deathgrunts mixing together with the greatest of ease. Like the music, the intensity never lets up.
Releases like this are a great listen. These songs are complex and nasty, yet can change up in an instant to something more atmospheric and considered.
Top release – more please!
Above the North are a Hardcore band from France. This is their latest EP.
It starts off with melodic riffs that have a firm edge to them whilst serrated vocals scream out over the top. This is the kind of emotive Hardcore that’s easy to connect with if you like the style as it’s instantly engaging yet with a depth to it that bears repeated visits.
Some of the guitar parts and riffs even have a Post-Hardcore feel to them and have a resplendent sheen. The solid sound that the band have shows these guitars off to their full potential and the band sound immense.
Imagine a more traditionally structured Norma Jean, or From Autumn to Ashes minus the clean vocals, or a less abrasive/Metal Zao…Above the North have a lot of talent it seems, as these four songs ably showcase.
Alongside recent Hardcore releases such as Muck and The Black Lantern, Above the North show that you can play Hardcore that has bite without going the massively heavy/angry route that much of Hardcore does.
These songs have a thoughtful, introspective aura to them yet still have energy and passion in spades.
Very impressive. If they can keep up this level of songwriting for the future then their début album will be a thing of beauty.
Check them out.
Fathoms are from the UK and play Metallic Hardcore. This is their début album.
The band play modern Metalcore with gruff, angry vocals and plenty of beatdown guitars.
The songs feature twisting, distorted guitars that are halfway between Djent and Hardcore, with more Metal influences sneaking into the mix on occasion.
It’s passionately played and delivered, and none could fault the band’s convictions. This comes across in the songs and the impressions they make.
The heavy riffs are performed with energy and enthusiasm. They seem to thunder out of the speakers and land causing furious damage.
Lives Lived is not all brutal riffs and angry intent though. The band do flirt with a melodic edge sometimes, and the shouted vocals even give way to some more melodic cleans on occasion. These moments are kept relatively infrequent however; enough to make an impact when they are used but not enough to become commonplace or boring.
Incorporating aspects of bands like Dead to Fall, Martyr AD, Martyr Defiled and Darkest Hour, Fathoms have created a very enjoyable début release that hits the spot like a lot of US Metalcore did in the mid-00s, before the style became mired in mediocrity and generic copying.
Highly recommended.
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