Hardcore – Page 22 – Wonderbox Metal

Teeph – Solid Jobs (Review)

Teeph are from the US and play Hardcore Metal.

This is heavy stuff, in the style of Botch, early Cave In, Knut, Zao, et al. This style hit its biggest point in the late 90’s/early 00’s and Teeph sound like they would have fit in just right back then.

Solid Jobs burns with a refined anger and a timeless appeal of pure heaviosity. The songs are impressive and gather influences from a range of sources, merging them into a cohesive whole.

As well as the loud and heavy parts they also know enough about their genre to add in slower, more introspective sections so that they use light and shade to maximum effect.

Teeph also show a bit of a Sludge influence to some of their riffs, greatly enhancing their songs. There is even the odd Stoner riff detectable, such as at the end of Marijuana Chaos.

Vocally the shouting is strong and deeply satisfying; the singer rages and snarls and really hits the spot.

This kind of music takes me back and it’s great to hear a band do it so well. This is an outstanding EP – it’s like listening to an old favourite for the first time.

Highly recommended.

Flesh Born – Han (Review)

Coming from the US Flesh Born are set to unleash their latest EP on the world.

This is screaming Hardcore with a Black Metal feel; dark and Blackened moods with sharp riffs all packaged in very short songs designed to pierce the minds of the weak.

The Blackened riffs are layered with high pitched screams while the Hardcore sensibility keeps things from veering to far into Black Metal territory and ensures the tracks last only as long as they need to.

Eight tracks, 11 minutes; this was never going to be pretty. Having said that though Flash Born do find time for less abrasive and more emotive riffs in their arsenal of pain.

Even with the short length of the songs the band make ample room for some slower riffs with the guitars lazily spreading misery and hardship like a virus. The aptly named Gloom is a perfect example of the art of Blackened Doom, cut short.

If you haven’t encountered Flesh Born before this is an enjoyable introduction to them. If they ever get around to releasing a full album it will be really interesting to see what they do with it.

https://www.facebook.com/fleshborn

Hashed Out – Hashed Out (Review)

Hashed Out are from Canada and play angry Hardcore.

This is violent music that’s noisy and Crusty. A hint of Grind, a smattering of Metallic fury, a good Hardcore base and even a touch of Sludge here and there – Hashed Out play music that’s full of rage and bile.

The singer shouts and spews vitriol across the 6 tracks and keeps the intensity up for the full 15 minutes playing time.

The songs may be short and furious but they have some hooks in them that keep you coming back for more. This reminds me of a more extreme version of some of the 90’s Metallic Hardcore bands like My Own Victim; the sense of songwriting that’s heavy but still catchy is similar, only with added Crust, filth and blasting.

Think of a Punk band swallowed by Eyehategod and powered by Grinding Crust. The songs stick around and the singer in particular is very memorable. In a sea of mediocrity Hashed Out stand tall.

This is an EP worth getting hold of.

Enabler – La Fin Absolue Du Monde (Review)

Enabler are from the US and play aggressive Hardcore/Metal.

Songs, songs, songs! But I’m getting ahead of myself…

This has a good Hardcore coating with a solid Metallic core. The songs rip along at a aggressive pace and leave you struggling to keep up with their urgency and sense of life.

The music is very well written and the songs have a great sense of dynamics and raging melodics. The tuneful brutality and fast angry passages show an intuitive understanding of what makes a great song. The riffs are as impressive as the overall compositions are.

This is not merely an album but a collection of individual songs that raise the bar for any other band playing any vaguely similar style of music.

The vocals are mainly screamed but still largely legible and are the crowning achievement of a band that has already poured a lot of effort into the music. They are highly emotive and work very well with the music to complete Enabler’s snarly, rabid vision of musical heaviness.

The ultimate fate of any band playing in this genre is to be compared to the legendary Converge. The highest praise I can think of is to say that I can quite happily play Enabler alongside the masters and they more than hold their own.

This is a stunning release that the band should be very proud of. It’s sadly quite rare these days that a band produce an album where every song has its own identity and purpose within the a wider whole-album context. This is an achievement to be studied and poured over by lesser bands for years to come.

A strong contender for album of the year in my book.

Dråp – En Naturlig Död (Review)

Dråp are from Sweden and play Crust/Hardcore.

The band have a thunderous sound that is heavy and belligerent.

The vocalist sounds rabid, dangerous and thoroughly pissed off. His vocals bark out over the ugly music like a bruiser looking for his next victim. A constant onslaught of abuse and bile streams forth with grim enthusiasm.

The music is muscular and without remorse. The guitars bash and smash their way through the short playing time like a determined beating that never seems to stop.

This is angry music for angry people. There is no subtlety or nuance here, just menace and barbarity. The drums beat, the guitars attack and the vocals snarl.

It’s relentless, it’s harsh, it’s not pretty, but it is good.

Hunt this down and listen to it loud.

Favourite Track: Höstmörker

Benchpress/Martyr’s Tongue – Split (Review)

A short but devastatingly heavy split between US heavyweights Benchpress and Puerto Rico’s Martyr’s Tongue.

Benchpress offer us some lean, muscular Hardcore with plenty of brawn and attitude.

Penance rips out of the gate with belligerence and is astoundingly heavy. The vocalist tears things up with a confidence and brutality that’s perfectly at home with the aggression that the rest of the band create.

The second song Pissed Away is shorter and faster but no less heavy. The solid sound ploughs through anyone foolish enough to get in the way and the band create yet another Hardcore song to be proud of. Angry stuff.

Martyr’s Tongue are a similar beast but different at the same time; faster and more frenetic with more of a Metal, even Grindcore, edge to their sound.

Their first track Deconstructive Process starts things off with a bit of sampling/noise for half of its playtime before launching into a high octane assault with brutality and blastbeats. The vocals are not quite as angry as those of Benchpress but they are more individualistic and put an interesting spin on things.

Unholy Communion is next and once again they ramp up the speed and aggression. Sounding almost unhinged on occasion the band put their all into the performance and it shows. The second half of the song gets bleaker and almost Doom/Black Metal in aura and intensity, at least for a short while before we’re back with the crushing guitars once more.

The entire split lasts only 12 minutes – surely there’s room in your collection for this?

All Pigs Must Die – Nothing Violates This Nature (Review)

All Pigs Must Die are from the US and play ultra-violent Hardcore Metal.

The band mix the aggression of Converge, the crust of Discharge and the Metal of Entombed into one searing package of extremity and violence.

This is a brutal rampage though a filth-fuelled rage-dump and catharsis through ferocity. The songs strain against the fabric of civilised society, holding the promise of anarchy and release but remaining coherent enough to channel all of the fury into a collection of tracks that are not only heavy musically but also with destructive potential.

There is 33 minutes of music here, spread across 10 tracks; the perfect amount of time so that the aggression truly flows into you but not so much that it can become stale or wasted potential.

I love music like this. It’s so vital and alive and epitomises why heavy music is so enticing. Do yourself a favour and get this album.

Earth Crisis – Salvation Of Innocents (Review)

Earth Crisis are from the US and this is their latest album of muscular Hardcore Metal.

These veterans are an institution in their own right, and I’ve been listening to them since first getting Gomorrah’s Season Ends in 1996. Which makes me feel very old, but let’s ignore that…

This is another prime slice of Grade A Metallic Hardcore guaranteed to get the pit moving and limbs thrashing.

The songs are short and to the point. There’s no need for messing around when you’re this focused and have your vision nailed down. They manage to combine a few different styles from their quite varied back catalogue.

Earth Crisis have always played the slower, almost sludge-infected riffs really well, and I’m pleased that there are still a good smattering of these on most songs alongside the more chuggy riffs.

Salvation Of Innocents is similar to their style on the brutal Breed The Killers album only with a lot more vocal variety; we get the standard bellowing, rawer shouting, semi-cleans that are still rough-around the edges, gang vocals, and most things in between. Although we never really get the ultra-melodic clean vocals that peppered their excellent Slither album, I’d say that this is roughly a cross between that release and Breed The Killers.

After the first two tracks of heaviness and aggression Shiver brings in melodic vocals with an almost orchestral chorus. It’s a welcome reminder that this is a band that have in fact a wide arsenal of weapons in their armoury with which to assault the senses with. This is ably shown by the next track The Morbid Glare which is an up-tempo rager and faster than Earth Crisis normally play.

I’m very pleased to say that I am not disappointed by this latest album and wholeheartedly recommend it to every and all fans of heaviness.

Shin To Shin – Shin To Shin (Review)

Coming from the US this is a Metal/Hardcore release with lots of muscle and attitude. I hesitate to call this Metalcore as that brings up negative associations for many; this is of the original Old-School Metal/Hardcore crossover period.

The guitars are heavy and want you to know this. They destroy everything in their path with a certainty born of experience.

The vocals are gruff shouts and speak of a singer who is at home on the rough side of things.

The songs are generally short, with an Old-School Hardcore belligerence filling every second with attitude and confidence. The Metal influence is not found wanting either though, with the aforementioned guitars being thick and beefy and the occasional solo played well.

I haven’t heard an album of this style for a while. Reminding of a band like Madball only with more of a Metallic edge; this is an enjoyable 22 minutes that’s best spent in the pit followed by a nice lie down to recover.

Reproacher – Nothing to Save (Review)

Reproacher are a Metallic Hardcore band from the US. Having enjoyed Reproacher’s previous releases I was looking forward to checking this one out.

I was not disappointed. This is intense, brutal and heavier than a really heavy thing. Reproacher’s assault is one of pressure and deadly intent.

Coming from the Converge-style of Hardcore this is scathing and vitriol-fuelled extremity. Powered by an undercurrent of Sludge and Crust, these tracks seethe violence from every sweaty pore.

Reproacher are no one-trick band though and they add in variety to their bruising onslaught with some interesting and inventive sections and ideas. The predatory crawl of Ballast contrasts nicely with the grinding charge of The Champion is Fucked, for example.

The album rips along through up-tempo and low-tempo tracks, all the while displaying a feel for thick guitar-based atmosphere and a good variety of songwriting.

This is for all worshippers of heaviness. Bring Reproacher into your world.