UKHC, 4 little letters that mean so much to me as a person and a music fan, one of my all-time favourite bands spawned from the UK underground and could have been a world beater if it weren’t for bad luck and the list of amazing hardcore bands this small country has produced genuinely makes me actually proud of this country when not much else can. Desolated are one of those very bands, they have been away for a long time but with Finding Peace they are back to remind you what UKHC is capable of!
When I hear a band has an instrumental/intro to open an album I usually puke and skip it, today I do no such thing, and The Stomper sets the tone perfectly with its no nonsense pummelling riffage that builds up perfectly for Lessons to storm into life and grab hold of your attention with force and immediacy, the riffs are fast and groove laden and the vocals of one time bassist Tony Evans are absolutely paint strippingly violent and leave you under no illusion that this album is personal and is going to take no prisoners along the way!
When the boss says, “…hey Rich, check out this…” I drop everything and hit “download files”. This is what I did when the new record from UK’s Indifferent Engine was recommended to me. Their debut full length, Speculative Fiction, is a crazy ride of post-hardcore goodness that shows these guys have a very cool record collection from the early 2000s, borrowing from amazing bands of that era like The Blood Brothers, At The Drive-In, The Dillinger Escape Plan, the first BoySetsFire record, and the heavier moments of Thursday, which could not be more in my wheelhouse.
At The Drive-In you say? Check out Pylon Cult. You will hear it right away. Lifetime Achievement Award, too. There is no bigger compliment coming from me. The opener, The Waiter, has a synth start like something off of the recent Turnstile records until the screams hit and you know you are in for something that is next level. It didn’t need to be a four-minute intro but it is what it is, and I forgive it especially when it brings you to the frantic DEP via Glassjaw of Crashing Into A Hillside In The Dead Of Night, which has some cool Turnstile-like harmonized background vocals to go along with the chaos.
When I hear a band has an instrumental/intro to open an album I usually puke and skip it, today I do no such thing, and The Stomper sets the tone perfectly with its no nonsense pummelling riffage that builds up perfectly for Lessons to storm into life and grab hold of your attention with force and immediacy, the riffs are fast and groove laden and the vocals of one time bassist Tony Evans are absolutely paint strippingly violent and leave you under no illusion that this album is personal and is going to take no prisoners along the way!
Bite Down feels like its calling you out and wants to see you in the pit and if your not giving it everything you can you will sorry, its more unrelenting and furious hardcore, that incorporates some 2 step sections with the more straight forward old school approach but what really sticks out is the absolute venom behind every single thing that you hear, and it’s thrilling to hear something so angry and vital, it invigorates you and if you fail to feel something whilst listening to this then your probably dead inside! Glass Ceiling should have been called The Stomper because that is exactly what this track does, it stomps and pounds away at you and never gives you a second to gather yourself before its back for another round and after the mid-section MOVE call out, you had better just do that or face being caught up in the whirlwind or anger.
So, four songs in and I think were at not even close to 10 minutes of music in total, this is how hardcore should be done, and with that Never Enough blasts into life and is 1:15 of brutality distilled, it doesn’t fly by because you just sit and take it all in and marvel at how this short a track that’s isn’t a grindcore track can possibly be so heavy and not just sound like a blurry mess. With Endless Betrayal we finally get a 3 + minute track which isn’t really good news if you were looking for any relief from the unbounding savagery because now they just do more of it for a longer period of time and as if you couldn’t already love this enough we get guest vocals from bonafide UKHC legends Ninebar, a really nice touch, musically it has a bit of a metalcore tinge to it but not the shitty electronic modern sounding shit, the old school raw and nasty sounding shit and as you can probably tell I am in heaven listening to it.
Let it Slide has an intro that spells out if your fake and 2-faced you can fuck right off and I think that is something we can all agree with and musically its back to the more ferocious punk tinged hardcore that most of the album has been relying on and its as invigoratingly violent as you would come to expect and Victim 2.0 is another pit-engaging anthem and when I say anthem I mean it, this will have clubs around the globe exploding into life and kicking seven shades of shit out of each other, the guitar work is glorious here and adds another dimension to the song and overall its probably the best song on the album, essential listening here!
When you listen to Enemy you almost feel like you have done something to piss Desolated off as every note and every lyric is spat at you with such spite you almost begin to take it personally, this also adds to the overall thrill and excitement that music this angry can give you and if the final 20 seconds don’t have you spin kicking and wind milling around the room there’s no helping you! Dead End 2025 is the final body blow from this bruising album and there’s no let up for one last time its just more and more and more savagery and it’s an adrenaline filled end to this fucking killer album.
To be able to go away for 9 years, reshuffle your line up and then have the nerve to drop an album as good as Finding Peace is frankly just rude and also unfair to the rest of the scene, it should also serve as a wake up call to any bands who feel they are at the top of their game because barring a few truly outstanding records I haven’t heard much better hardcore that this and in a year when the UK scene has already lost some leading lights it might be time for Desolated to make their claim to the throne. This is an absolutely essential listen if you listen to hardcore and if you don’t then this could be one of those albums that makes you re-evaluate that foolish decision. LONG LIVE UKHC!! 10/10
Bruce Soord - Bruce Soord: Re-Issue (Kscope Records) [Simon Black]
There is one school of thought that argues that Prog masters The Pineapple Thief’s initial output was pretty much a solo project from Bruce Soord at its point of inception. But these things have a tendency to snowball, and these days the core of Soord, Steve Kitch and Jon Sykes built from the need to have a touring outfit has remained stable for two decades and is very much a band in their own right now, and don’t we love them for it. However, Mr Soord is quite a prolific songwriter, with a lot more he wants to express outside of the core Prog Rock band vehicle and has produced a handful of solo efforts over the last ten years. This was the first, and is getting a dusting down, polish and reissue this month.
For some reason these solo efforts passed me by, so hearing this for the first time has been an interesting experience. It’s a lot more ambient, soft and gentle than I was expecting, with few of the distinctively experimental touches that The Pineapple Thief became known for, and I am reminded of early Pink Floyd, but with a more focussed delivery in song-structure. The tracks frequently open with a soft and gentle acoustic touch but slowly build mood and intensity to counterpoint the intensely personal and emotive subject matter, but he’s not afraid to bring a little more speed and tempo when it helps.
Being one of those people who can literally play any musical instrument you care to hand to him, you get a sense of his broad range, but that said most of the material here is focussed on his voice in softer tonal mode and built around an acoustic guitar at the heart, but the subtle way the music starts layering in additional instrumentation around this builds mood superbly, with an almost orchestral finale taking it to a peak. It was well-received on its original release, and I can see why as it’s been nice to hear a different side to this man’s considerable talents. 8/10
The Haunted - Songs Of Last Resort (Century Media Records) [Mark Young]
I’ve not heard anything by The Haunted since their debut release in 1998. There’s probably a decent reason as to why that is the case and I’ve not kept up to date with their music since them. As I recall that debut release was going to be an At The Gates beater etc and I remember that it was good but it wasn’t that good. Moving forward nearly 27 years (oof) and their latest has dropped into my folder for review and I have to say that I’m really looking forward to it.
And unfortunately, I’ve came away disappointed. I was hoping for a furious, unhinged assault on the senses, something that good so it remains on repeat and bulldozes its way onto your album of the year list. Instead, It was just fine and I never want to describe something as being fine. It just starts with Warhead, which with a name like that it should be an opening track that stomps and breathes fire, destroying large cities in its wake. And it doesn’t. It sort of sets that tone for the rest of the album in that each comes in, plays and then leaves without really leaving a mark.
To be able to go away for 9 years, reshuffle your line up and then have the nerve to drop an album as good as Finding Peace is frankly just rude and also unfair to the rest of the scene, it should also serve as a wake up call to any bands who feel they are at the top of their game because barring a few truly outstanding records I haven’t heard much better hardcore that this and in a year when the UK scene has already lost some leading lights it might be time for Desolated to make their claim to the throne. This is an absolutely essential listen if you listen to hardcore and if you don’t then this could be one of those albums that makes you re-evaluate that foolish decision. LONG LIVE UKHC!! 10/10
Bruce Soord - Bruce Soord: Re-Issue (Kscope Records) [Simon Black]
There is one school of thought that argues that Prog masters The Pineapple Thief’s initial output was pretty much a solo project from Bruce Soord at its point of inception. But these things have a tendency to snowball, and these days the core of Soord, Steve Kitch and Jon Sykes built from the need to have a touring outfit has remained stable for two decades and is very much a band in their own right now, and don’t we love them for it. However, Mr Soord is quite a prolific songwriter, with a lot more he wants to express outside of the core Prog Rock band vehicle and has produced a handful of solo efforts over the last ten years. This was the first, and is getting a dusting down, polish and reissue this month.
For some reason these solo efforts passed me by, so hearing this for the first time has been an interesting experience. It’s a lot more ambient, soft and gentle than I was expecting, with few of the distinctively experimental touches that The Pineapple Thief became known for, and I am reminded of early Pink Floyd, but with a more focussed delivery in song-structure. The tracks frequently open with a soft and gentle acoustic touch but slowly build mood and intensity to counterpoint the intensely personal and emotive subject matter, but he’s not afraid to bring a little more speed and tempo when it helps.
Being one of those people who can literally play any musical instrument you care to hand to him, you get a sense of his broad range, but that said most of the material here is focussed on his voice in softer tonal mode and built around an acoustic guitar at the heart, but the subtle way the music starts layering in additional instrumentation around this builds mood superbly, with an almost orchestral finale taking it to a peak. It was well-received on its original release, and I can see why as it’s been nice to hear a different side to this man’s considerable talents. 8/10
The Haunted - Songs Of Last Resort (Century Media Records) [Mark Young]
I’ve not heard anything by The Haunted since their debut release in 1998. There’s probably a decent reason as to why that is the case and I’ve not kept up to date with their music since them. As I recall that debut release was going to be an At The Gates beater etc and I remember that it was good but it wasn’t that good. Moving forward nearly 27 years (oof) and their latest has dropped into my folder for review and I have to say that I’m really looking forward to it.
And unfortunately, I’ve came away disappointed. I was hoping for a furious, unhinged assault on the senses, something that good so it remains on repeat and bulldozes its way onto your album of the year list. Instead, It was just fine and I never want to describe something as being fine. It just starts with Warhead, which with a name like that it should be an opening track that stomps and breathes fire, destroying large cities in its wake. And it doesn’t. It sort of sets that tone for the rest of the album in that each comes in, plays and then leaves without really leaving a mark.
I appreciate that fires can burn themselves out over time and it must be difficult to continually write up and in your face material but I expected a better strike rate than what I got here. All of the tools are there – guitars, drums and vocals and there are riffs but its not hitting. Death To The Crown is a better track and should have opened the album but it’s not different or better than any other aggressive melodeath material you have heard recently. Its not all doom and despondency mind. Collateral Carnage is a high point in terms of how they bridge the brutal side of things into the melodic but remains an isolated moment amongst the 12 tracks presented here.
I feel deflated in that I didn’t like this as much as I thought I would. I had high hopes for it and it didn’t go the way I wanted it to. I’m sure that others will find more to like and love it more than I do and that is great, opinions should vary when it comes to music. In this instance, my opinion is that its just ok. 6/10
Indifferent Engine - Speculative Fiction (Church Road Records) [Rich Piva]
I feel deflated in that I didn’t like this as much as I thought I would. I had high hopes for it and it didn’t go the way I wanted it to. I’m sure that others will find more to like and love it more than I do and that is great, opinions should vary when it comes to music. In this instance, my opinion is that its just ok. 6/10
Indifferent Engine - Speculative Fiction (Church Road Records) [Rich Piva]
When the boss says, “…hey Rich, check out this…” I drop everything and hit “download files”. This is what I did when the new record from UK’s Indifferent Engine was recommended to me. Their debut full length, Speculative Fiction, is a crazy ride of post-hardcore goodness that shows these guys have a very cool record collection from the early 2000s, borrowing from amazing bands of that era like The Blood Brothers, At The Drive-In, The Dillinger Escape Plan, the first BoySetsFire record, and the heavier moments of Thursday, which could not be more in my wheelhouse.
At The Drive-In you say? Check out Pylon Cult. You will hear it right away. Lifetime Achievement Award, too. There is no bigger compliment coming from me. The opener, The Waiter, has a synth start like something off of the recent Turnstile records until the screams hit and you know you are in for something that is next level. It didn’t need to be a four-minute intro but it is what it is, and I forgive it especially when it brings you to the frantic DEP via Glassjaw of Crashing Into A Hillside In The Dead Of Night, which has some cool Turnstile-like harmonized background vocals to go along with the chaos.
The spacey and atmospheric Bitcrush is a nice break from the controlled craziness, even if it is a minute or two too long. The first sign of normal singing is on the transition track Wormholes, which only exists to juxtapose the intensity of the hardcore slow burn of Modern, that has a subtle bit of keys that adds so much to the song, also ala ATDI. Crescents opens with a hardcore bass line and a Helmet-like repeated riff and is probably the most accessible song on the record, giving off some early AFI vibes at certain points. Verdigris sounds like an outtake from a BoySetsFire early session or a Snapcase B-Side, but a bit more complex in its composition.
Pure post hardcore/heavy emo perfection is what Primrose & Acetate is all about, while another one of those interludes, The Captain, closes out the record in an anti-climactic way. This is the closest I have come to hearing a new At The Drive-In record since the last At The Drive-In record, and I am so very here for it. Speculative Fiction is a tad long and has one or two unneeded interludes, but it mostly makes up for that with their take on early 2000’s post hardcore like they were there in the flesh. Speculative Fiction simply rips it up and is a fresh take on an amazing time in post hardcore. 8/10
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