BLACK DOG - SEWN INTO CONFUSION

 

BLACK DOG's Overthrow EP was one of my favorite releases of 2023, and the d-beat sonic onslaught continues with Sewn Into Confusion. No band right now currently is pushing this style of hardcore to this extreme. With Overthrow, a boisterous tape hiss completely drenched everything except the drums in a way that I don't think I had ever heard before. This recording is markedly different; that wall of white noise is gone, the riffs are more up front, and the violence of the actual bass and guitar distortion is kicked up another notch. It's a bit more of normal presentation but still really abrasive, and I like that the vocals still sound like they are being howled out of a dark, desolate cavern. I don't think any band uses negative space as punctuation as well as this Nova Scotia three-piece - they pick their spots for these short, hard mid-track breaks, the tracks end abruptly and completely, and then they again hit you with an avalanche of bricks. Without a doubt, one of the current bands I most want to see live.

FFO: Disclose, Physique, Gloom

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SUBVERSIVE RITE - APOCALYPSE ZONE

 

At long last... like ancient vellum scrolls in earthenware vessels exhumed by Bedouin shepherds, this UKHC/metal-punk tome was formulated and recorded in a bygone era (2022), thought to be lost, nearly forgotten, before suddenly re-emerging as if bestowed upon us by a clandestine higher power through parted clouds in a hostile sky.

This record feels like a natural progression for this group, some of whom once played in Gainesville's VERMIN, a more straightforward, stripped-down, stompy DISCHARGE-inspired three-piece. The early SUB RITE recordings take on substantially more thrash metal influence in the realm of mid-80s UK hardcore. Apocalypse Zone feels like an apotheosis: full ENGLISH DOGS worship, with a clean, thrashy aggressive sound that sprawls out with a 2-minute guitar interlude, a 4.5 minute penultimate track, extended ripping guitar solos, a brief haunting synth intro and songs that just have a lot more dynamism and detail. It reminds me of the recent LIFELESS DARK LP albeit with a lot less fat on the bone and less distortion or straight up crust influence. Not exactly my favorite style of hardcore personally but it's really well-done and I'm glad this finally gets to see the light of day.

FFO: ENGLISH DOGS, LIFELESS DARK, VARUKERS

Fav tracks: A New Era, SID

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FUCKIN' LOVERS - CRUCIFIXION OF THE MASSES 7"

 

ALLERGY was pretty much my first exposure to raw punk when I moved to Gainesville 12 years ago. I am an absolutely decrepit 29 years old now and this group is still ripping out similar sonic devastation in a new iteration. The main, obvious difference between the two bands is that FUCKIN' LOVERS is a three piece with two singers as opposed to ALLERGY's more traditional 4-member setup, and I think that's more noticeable on this record than in the past. The pair just sounds a little more distinct from each other, and tracks like "I Don't Care" and "Normal Feelings" utilize that with sing-songy hooks that set this record apart from both their past recordings and some of their main influences.

I love watching this band live. The members have a nice little chemistry, and the way the title track builds up while gyrating back and forth with effects until collapsing in on itself hit like a ton of bricks at their record release last week. I didn't love the recording of this release compared to their past output though, it hits my ears a little on the thin side and I don't think totally captures what it's like to actually go and see them play. They're hitting Europe with TOTAL NADA as I type this so if you're across the pond be sure to check em out.

FFO: Confuse, Gai, Frenzy

Fav track: I Don't Care, Arrogance, Crucifixion of the Masses

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REASON WHY - S/T

 

My favorite demo of the year so far! Think BREAKDOWN's '87 Demo and Blacklisted EP... the RAW DEAL tape... early MADBALL... STRAIGHT AHEAD.. The type of classic, real deal hardcore you crave, but is denied to you by modernity's eye-watering ecclesia of corny metalcore, overproduced "demos," empty-calories tribute bands and bad beatdown... The songs here are memorable and stick in my head for days after listening. The bass playing in particular adds some nice little flourishes here and there. The singing is catchy and has a ton of conviction. The spirit of '88 is alive.

Fav tracks: Face to Face, Reason Why

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EARLY GRAVE - SEWER BABY EATEN BY WORMS

 

I know this release has been getting buzz, selling out in most places and I'm probably a bit late posting about it. I heard bits of it in my friend's car when it first came out but didn't listen all the way through until I got the tape in the mail recently, and it was well worth the wait. It even came with a download code! You don't see that too often nowadays, at least with punk and hardcore tapes, but I do use them. 

Getting to the actual music, first of all this tape has some real nice shredding. The guitar playing is nuts and the closest thing I'd liken it to would be the sinister virtuosic chaos of HOLOGRAM or CICADA. EARLY GRAVE's sound overall to me has a bit of the bleakness and cold, nihilistic rage of classic dairyland hardcore, the frantic and spasmodic tendencies of Italian punk and a little 80s extreme metal influence, all somehow spewing out of a three-piece where the guitar player is also singing. 

Fav tracks: Frozen Blood, Terror of the Gods, Pillagers

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DESTRUXION AMERICA - GRITOS NORTEÑO

Loud bass and a sludgy haze of fuzzed out guitar... uptempo pogo tracks, slower, brooding, pacing-in circles tracks; and songs that shift between the two zones. The way the record opens called FRENZY to mind but overall it's a bit of a different take on I guess what one might call raw or noise punk, there's no tape hiss or winding distortion; the guitar isn't doing much abrasive noodling. It just steadily adds a layer of borderline psychedelic texture to the bass and singing, both of which are situated higher in the mix. The vocals in particular sound set aside from everything else, almost as if they were recorded differently. The singer (guy from NOSFERATU) has a pained, almost exasperated tone.

There's a GAI feel to this record but not noisy in the same way, not as kooky, steadier and more contained. It also kind of reminds me of some early Finnish hardcore like VARAUS with how the riffs don't jump up and down the fretboard but they bounce and stick in your head. It's in a middle zone between styles where it's not super wild, super in-your-face or harsh like your latter-day noise punk acts, but it also doesn't quite have the driving anthemic quality of that style's more straightforward UK82 progenitors, in part due to the vocals not having that kind of thrust. But it still pulls off a weird sound that doesn't have a clear 1:1 point of comparison while having its share of catchy moments. I also like the artwork.

Fav tracks: Nacidos de la Violencia, Reborujado, Desde el Cielo

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NUNHEX - DISRUPTIVE DECEPTION (2013)

 

NUNHEX was a band from Miami that played very fast, bombastic hardcore in the style of RIPCORD, BRAIN DEATH or SCHOLASTIC DETH. The drumming was absolutely perfect for this type of band - controlled chaos, fast, intense, never static but very tight and loud - and they had a cool live presence. Everyone in the band moved around a lot in a way you don't see too much nowadays, where it seems like most people playing guitar are content to stand still and just try not to fuck up too bad. There is no shortage of bands playing this style of hardcore today but few nail it like NUNHEX did. A 2010s Florida classic.

FFO: Heresy, Brain Death, Ripcord

Download Disruptive Deception (2013)

Download S/T EP (2013)

Download Live at Churchill's (2013)