This is third album from French metallic hardcore band Nesseria.
Having unleashed something as heavy and violent as 2014’s Fractures, Nesseria have now returned to inflict their latest ode to sonic violence Cette Érosion de nous Mêmes; 38 minutes of intensity and aggression. Continue reading “Nesseria – Cette Érosion de nous Mêmes (Review)”
Jagged Vision’s second album Death Is This World contains 10 tracks of tightly compressed rage and aggression. This is the type of violent metallic hardcore that can strip paint at 100 paces. Heady stuff. It’s also, however, not without its atypical moments; added stoner rock and sludge groove? Yes please. It’s all subsumed into an essentially heavy and nasty piece of work; Jagged Vision have created something quite special on their second album.
So, without further preamble, let’s find out some more… Continue reading “Interview with Jagged Vision”
Gnarwolf are a US hardcore band and this is their latest EP.
You’ve gotta like this kind of thing; less than 14 minutes of angular, chaotic hardcore. The band play it well and make one Hell of a noise. What’s not to like? Continue reading “Gnarwolf – II (Review)”
This is the second album from Jagged Vision, a Norwegian metallic hardcore band.
As a starting point for Jagged Vision’s sound, imagine a band like Black Tusk or Doomriders, add in some All Pigs Must Die, and then coat the entire thing in a violent metallic hardcore sheen.
Jagged Vision play a hardcore/sludge/metal mix that borrows from aspects of all styles, allowing the band to firmly cement their own personality. Continue reading “Jagged Vision – Death Is This World (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.
Funerals are from the US and play Hardcore. This is their début EP.
This is caustic, aggressive Hardcore which is heavy and full of contempt. Their sound is thick and syrupy and the guitars hit like hammers.
Fusing Crust Punk and Metallic Hardcore with even a hint of a Blackened influence here and there, these are three songs you wouldn’t want to mess with.
Veins of Black starts with a kick-ass Blackened Doom riff that slowly builds and builds until the vocals start and the chugging begins. The singer shows himself to have a charismatic snarl that fits well with the dark nature of the music. The riffs are catchy and there’s a good amount of 90’s Hardcore vibe lurking behind the contemporary sheen.
Human Ruin has an almost Dillinger Escape Plan feel to it before relaxing and sounding more like Gurd with just drums and bass with less angry vocals taking the stage. The guitars and shouting resumes once more though and the feeling of 90’s Metallic Hardcore asserts itself again.
The final song Sick of Sun continues in the same vein, with Sludge-tinged guitars laying a foundation of heavy riffs and catchy vocals. It’s the longest of the songs and twists and winds to its apotheosis.
Think elements of bands like Vision of Disorder, Earth Crisis, Sick Of It All, Sworn Enemy, etc. all mixed together; then give the resulting concoction a Crusty makeover and add a guitar tone that Crowbar would be proud of. Some Blackened Doom influences round off the package and Funerals have a heady list of weapons in their arsenal to utilise.
This is a decent EP that’s made me quite nostalgic for my younger days, whilst at the same time enjoying the fact that there are a raft of talented new Hardcore bands around these days like Funerals who are taking the template and running with it.
Support this up and coming band and check out their EP.
In Love Your Mother are from Switzerland. The band play short blasts of heavy Metallic Hardcore that takes parts of bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan, Meshuggah, System of a Down, Mastodon and Tool; Mathcore meets Progressive Metal.
Most of the songs here are angry and heavy but they also have a Progressive Metal edge to them so occasionally branch out into softer areas where clean vocals replace the harsher shouts; all of which is compressed into songs that are typically about the 1 or 2 minute mark, on average.
Although the album is 30 minutes long, the changeling nature of the tracks and the fact that there are 18 of them mean In Love Your Mother are a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of band. Although you could probably make a similar claim for countless Grindcore bands, the difference here is that In Love Your Mother are a much more varied proposition.
It’s an enjoyable release that benefits from a loud volume and thorough listen.
It’s heavy, it’s good, it rocks. Give them a try.
Great Reversals are from the US and play Hardcore/Post-Hardcore. This is their latest EP.
The band boast quite the immense sound with guitar riffs sounding like great slabs of granite falling from the sky.
A charismatic vocalist instantly draws the attention and hooks you in. His voice pierces the combination of heavy Metallic Hardcore and the more restrained Post-Hardcore influences to create an aural experience that’s quite invigorating.
This strikes me as the kind of band that would have done very well in the late 90’s/early 00’s; think of a charismatic band from this era, (maybe bits of bands like Skycamefalling and Shai Hulud), and then update the sound with a relatively subtle Post-Hardcore influence and Great Reversals are the result.
This is an impressive EP and I was expecting something less individual and less…striking than this. Maybe it’s the cynic in me, but this is a great little EP and I’m pleasantly surprised by how good it is.
It’s time to show your support – check out Great Reversals and get their EP. Definitely worth a listen.
Cathedral Fever are from the US and play Hardcore that’s chaotic, Crusty and dark.
The cover intrigues me. What lies within?
The answer is anger. Anger lies within.
Cathedral Fever are the kind of band who always sound loud, even when played at low volumes. It’s no mean feat. Their sound seems strong enough to overcome mere physical limitations of air vibrations and get to the very meat of the matter – sounding pissed and playing pure rage.
The songs have personality and the band understand what makes this kind of violent Hardcore Metal interesting. Rather than just being one dimensional displays of rage and anger they understand the need for dynamics, a bit of variety, (within stylistic limitations of course), and the importance of a good riff.
They don’t neglect the bass either, which is a very undervalued and under-used instrument in my opinion. Good stuff.
Another interesting element to their sound is an almost Old-School Metal/Rock feel to some of the riffs on occasion. It’s not a huge part of their sound but it’s there enough to make a note of. The blending of Metallic Hardcore guitars with a Rockier sound to some of the riffs works well. Add this to the Crust vibe that covers everything and the songs work well.
This is a really good EP from a band with enough talent to force people to take notice of them. Check them out and see if they can knock you down.
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.
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