Hallucination - S/T

D-Beat on a Friday morning? Yes please. Hallucination are here to kick things off with some ferocious and vile noise crust that is reminiscent of greats like Deathside and Cult Ritual. Across the eight minutes of their demo, these Philly nihilists crack skulls and definitely prove that they are coming at it with raw energy and hatred that I think is rarely seen in the underground. Yes this genre is a bit derivative, but that's the point. That these ideas that are now well over 30 years old remain fresh and exciting when executed with panache. 

Hallucination capture the imagination from the first real track on the record, 'Hallucinations.' It sees the band delivering at a high level and with a snarl. The shoddy production and raw guitar tones are only part of the fun. In fact, to have any better production would actually make this record significantly worse. As is - Hallucination is a potent rallying cry, an initial cry out to a god who failed and proof that this is a band who are going to go for the throat no matter what you tell them. Isn't that sort of balls out aggression the very thing that makes punk rock so compelling in the first place? Hallucination certainly seem to think so. 

It's hard not to be enamored with the aggression and hate spewed forth by Hallucination. The band has done a fabulous job here of straight up going for the throat and continually proving that they are a one of a kind force in the scene. It's a delight to really sink your teeth into these sorts of blasphemies and the more time I spend immersed in the madness the more I realize that this is the sort of band who can't help but to capture the imagination. Will you dive into the mayhem with them or is their brand of punk fury too much? We don't care - we're having too good a time in the pit.

Pre-order the album!

http://sentientruin.com/releases/hallucination-hallucination

Strength in Numbers

Now here is some good solid and destructive beatdown metalcore. Sure this might not appeal to the more pvre death metaller but when you need something solid and bone crushing to bang your head too you would be hard pressed to find a better option than the joyfully destructive music of Strength in Numbers. While they don't have a lot of material out right now, the little they have put out is most promising indeed, brutal and fresh the main issue Strength in Number have to overcome is production, their sound is just too muddy. Yety from a songwriting and riffing perspective they are a very, very solid beatdown group with some wonderful breakdowns that really fit into the music. With a complete lack of clean vocals (always a good thing in this kind of music) Strength in Numbers have a sound many metalheads can enjoy. With a thousand Facebook fans already these guys are starting to do a good job of getting their name out there. I would like to hear a better produced release from them so that they can really start their inevitable climb to the top!

Find them on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/sinbahc/app_204974879526524

Unkind-Pelon Juuret

A man starts running down a poorly lit city street, something is coming, something evil and potent, as he runs he realizes their is no escape, he will be overcome by the intimidating power of Unkinds latest release Pelon Juuret. Seven tracks of pit starting riffs and vicious vocals Pelon Juuret will beat the listener into submission and hold them in thrall of the extreme power and browbeating riffs that are found throughout this record. Toss in a couple violent hardcore downbeats and you have yourself a record for the ages, a veritable underground masterpiece.

What really makes these Finns special is their interesting use of atmospherics. It adds a lot of flavor to the music and helps to make Unkind unique. I particularly dig the intro of Viallinen a moody piece that eventually breaks into a skull smashing and ear crushing d-beat piece that rips out juggulars. As much as I love the more solid and fast paced pieces I'd like to hear more of this slow crushing insanity. The versatile nature of the album gives the music an almost Pig Destroyer type quality, and I'm quite serious when I say that in many ways Unkind is the Pig Destroyer of hardcore, they're simply that good.

In conclusion, if you're looking for some of the most violent and intelligent hardcore of 2013 then Pelon Juuret is the album for you. Filled with ripping riffs and amazing atmospherics this album is something worth spinning many a time. A veritable twenty first century masterwork here lies proof that d-beat hardcore can still be something special. In many ways Pelon Juuret shows an incredible way forward for the genre, an album for the ages I'm excited to see where Unkind bring their sound in the future. What I'm really trying to say is you should pick this album up when it comes out on Relapse on the 9th of July.

Find them on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/UnkindHardcore