Hardcore – Page 56 – Wonderbox Metal

Fathoms – Lives Lived (Review)

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.

Agnostic Front – The American Dream Died (Review)

If you don’t already know, Agnostic Front come from the US and are Hardcore through and through. This is their eleventh album.

This veteran band keeps going and shows no signs of running out of anger and drive any time soon. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that The American Dream Died is more aggressive than ever.

The songs are short and to the point. Muscles are flexed, doors are kicked in and people are held accountable. This is music with a sense of purpose.

A vaguely Metallic element including the odd guitar solo spices up the Hardcore assault and the tracks are heavy enough to have a strong presence.

Agnostic Front are a band that have always written songs before riffs. Anthems, even. This album is full of them.

Various guests also appear, all of appropriate Hardcore pedigree, but this show is Agnostic Front’s alone.

This is classic, Old-School Hardcore with a modern recording and plenty of teeth. You can’t get more authentic than this.

Music with attitude that delivers the goods.

Dark Circles – MMXIV (Review)

Dark Circles are from Canada and play Hardcore. This is their latest release.

This is dark, violent Hardcore with a D-Beat element.

There’s a tendency at the moment for dark Hardcore bands to have a Blackened influence, (like Flesh Born and Protestant, for example), which I’m all for as it sounds great, and although Dark Circles fit in well with this style, they’re also different; they have a very obvious Punk background that mixes with the Blackened influences to sound warped, disturbed and evil in their own charismatic way.

The best word to describe Dark Circles is hostile. Really, really hostile.

The guitar sound is utterly abrasive and seems sharp and rough enough to do some real damage. On top of this the acid vocals spew all kinds of hatred and venom, so much so that you begin to wonder if the singer is in fact human at all. It’s a visceral display of hostility, (yes, there’s that word again).

There’s a boat-load of aggression here for sure, but it’s not a wild, killing rage; this is focused and tight, and all the more lethal for it.

These songs channel what must be a never-ending rage into coherent and dangerous-sounding songs that have more to them than initially meets the eye. The Blackened, harsh melodies and the angular, piercing riffs don’t just exist to assault the listener; there is method and intent to these tracks, the key to which is the quality songwriting.

Energy, enthusiasm and dynamics are displayed in abundance, and the band know how to pace themselves. They never let up the intensity though, as even in the rarer moments of reflection and almost Post-Metal darkness that they occasionally slip into for short moments, there’s still the rage and hatred, briefly and barely tethered whilst the band collectively get ready to resume their terror strikes once more.

This is almost 26 minutes of state-of-the-art Blackened Hardcore horror. Yes, it’s an essential listen for anyone who likes this kind of thing.

Turn the volume up, turn the lights out and let your anger take over. Dark Circles are here to guide you.

Call of the Void – Ageless (Review)

Call of the Void are from the US and play Hardcore. This is their second album.

Call of the Void play the kind of nasty, violent Hardcore that it’s very easy to like. Somewhat of a cross between All Pigs Must Die, early Eighteen Visions, Early Entombed and any number of Old-School Hardcore bands, this is music that is earthy and pure.

Blasting mayhem and Crust-fuelled carnage make up the bulk of the tracks here. Each song rages and tears at the world through red-tinted vision.

The vocals are non-stop shouts and screams that are perfectly adapted to their environment. They provide a formidable presence and focal point to already intimidating music.

Moments of rough melody and abrasive atmosphere do appear amongst the high-energy proceedings. These glimpses of mercy amidst the violence ensure that Call of the Void are worthy of repeat spins and are not just a throwaway one-shot band.

This is music that’s brutally honest and aggressively focused.

Very enjoyable indeed.

Muck – Your Joyous Future (Review)

Muck are from Iceland and play Hardcore. This is their second album.

The first song on this album is called Provoke Me, and this serves as an ample motto of reference for Muck’s acerbic and violent Hardcore. This is music to fight to.

The band play with a kind of focused looseness, which means that although the band are tight enough to deliver a professional album they also have enough vitality in them so that everything sounds naturally dangerous and beautifully aggressive.

The riffs are a combination of the more modern, aggressive Hardcore breed and a more traditional, Old-School feel. The merger of the two together makes for an intriguing and enticing listen as the band rage through ten tracks of carnage.

Inhabiting the middle ground between Converge’s sharpened aggression and Martyrdöd’s D-beat extravaganzas, Muck form a bridge between the two that allows the listener to enjoy both styles in one package.

Well I’ve really enjoyed this. Listen loud and get ready for violence.

Blame Kandinsky – Pink Noise Motel (Review)

Blame Kandinsky are from Greece and this is their debut EP. They play chaotic Hardcore.

This is angular Hardcore in the style of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Every Time I Die, Norma Jean, et al. They play their chosen brand of mayhem with pride and skill, peeling off riff after riff of controlled chaos and deliberate discord.

These songs have a passionate energy to them that’s an essential part of any band that plays this style.

Thankfully, Blame Kandinsky are more than just a few hastily slapped together riffs as that can easily become dull; they know the importance of following riffs through to their natural conclusion and of creating atmosphere, no matter how fleeting or obscured by chaotic frenzy.

The singer has a charismatic voice that’s somewhat of a scream-ier version of the Every Time I Die singer’s style.

It’s always good to hear this kind of music, especially when delivered with obvious passion and ability.

These five songs, (and one pointless intro), showcase a talented band who have developed their sound into a force to be reckoned with already. If they can build on these strong foundations and continue to develop their individuality then their eventual album should be a stunner.

Highly recommended.

Favourite Track: Nascency.Admittance.Guilt.Rebirth. Some top quality riffing and vocal patterns combined with some Converge-esque atmospherics mean this song is a firm favourite of mine.

Gristnam – Even Less (Review)

Gristnam are from the US and play Grindcore/Sludge.

This is underground, aggressive Grind that takes elements of extreme Hardcore’s hateful violence and Sludge’s nasty groove to produce eleven tracks of Grind’n’Roll that is good for what ails ya.

Deep vocals populate the songs with a throaty aggression that fits the music well. The singer has a charismatic bark that has an appropriately Southern twinge to it, adding personality to the bile.

The production is fuzzy and heavy, allowing the band to be their filthy, nasty selves without detracting from the intensity of the music.

The songs have the Southern groove of Eyehategod, the confident swagger of Brutal Truth and the pure-blooded confidence of the Southern Metal scene. Indeed anyone familiar with the hotbed of earthy Metal talent that is Louisiana will recognise the tell-tale signs of this scene in Gristnam’s sound. Yet remarkably, like all of the output from this area, Gristnam have their own personality stamped into these tracks and Even Less is definitely its own beast.

These songs will leave you breathless and I imagine would transform a live show into a heaving mass of sweaty bodies and bloody carnage. The aggressive groove and dangerous assault of Gristnam is positively designed for the live environment.

Even Less has won me over effortlessly. What’s not to like here? Fans of underground, heavy, nasty music will no doubt lap this up, as they well should.

Check them out.

Death Engine – Mud (Review)

Death Engine are a Hardcore band from France. This is their début album.

Death Engine play their Hardcore angry, atonal, dissonant and with much diversity. One moment they’re shredding out complex noisecore and the next they’ve gone all Post-Hardcore for moments of resplendent beauty.

This variety of assault is one of the things that makes Mud such a compelling listen. The band are very talented and even though this is only their first album, (and second release overall), they have clearly honed these compositions into the finely tuned songs that they are today through hard work and passion.

There’s lots of nifty ideas present on the album, starting on the first track Medusa and right up until the final one, Negative. Death Engine obviously aren’t lacking in the creativity department.

Angular riffing and complex drumming make up the lion’s share of the songs whilst the singer works himself up into an emotive frenzy.

The production suits the band; it’s not polished and clear but gritty and real. This is the sound of a band who are alive with vibrancy and furious conviction.

It’s hard to describe the feelings that Mud raises; this is the kind of album that it’s easy to fall in love with. There’s so much on offer here that it’s literally too much to absorb in one listen. This isn’t because there’s too much thrown in just for the sake of it, rather that the band have stuffed so much quality songsmithing into these tracks that while you’re getting absorbed in a particular guitar part it’s easy to miss everything else that’s going on.

This is a veritable Tour de Force of an album and one that Death Engine should be rightly proud of.

Bloody Hell this is good.

Atoj – Atoj (Review)

Atoj are from Italy. This is their latest EP and they play Hardcore.

Atoj’s music is a combination of abrasive Hardcore and 90’s Mathcore. It’s a gritty and dirty EP that showcases a band who have found a sound they’re comfortable with.

The songs are dynamic and interesting, never allowing the listener to slink into complacency, assuming that they know what the next bit will sound like.

This self-titled EP is well-recorded and even on the rare occasions when the band calm down there’s still a palpable intensity to the tracks.

They remind me of a compendium of the heavy parts of older Poison the Well, the aggressive, angular chaos of some of Zao’s work, the Hardcore know-how of Nora, a smidgen of some older bits of The Dillinger Escape Plan and the angry, non-singing parts of Letlive.

An enjoyable rage. Check them out.

Xibalba – Tierra Y Libertad (Review)

Xibalba are a Death Metal band from the US and this is their third album.

This is heavy, brutal Death Metal that takes Hardcore and Sludge influences to make a monster of an album.

Imagine a Metalcore band that played Death Metal…yes I know that this implies Deathcore, but Xibalba are not a Deathcore band. Xibalba don’t have an easy to categorise sound. Deathcore should cover it, but no; this is a merger of 90’s Hardcore and 90’s Death Metal where Morbid Angel and Madball meet.

Classic Metal songwriting merges with Hardcore fury and Death Metal aggression. These songs really hit the spot for me as they take me back to the mid/late 90’s but translated to the modern day with a crushingly heavy production.

The band’s sound is Hellishly aggressive and recalls lost greats like Merauder and Konkhra if they got their hands on some Obituary and Crowbar riffs.

The vocals are predominantly harsh shouts that straddle the line between Hardcore and Metal, successfully merging the two styles into a vitriolic whole.

Xibalba have a meaty, beefy guitar tone that can squash a tank at 1000 metres. The punishing music perfectly captures the feeling of rolling demolition and hate-fuelled terror. Little snatches of melody appear merely to offset the heavy rhythms so that when these moments of light disappear again the riffs sound even louder and heavier than ever before.

Thoroughly enjoyable.