Brutality Will Prevail – Scatter The Ashes

Check out my review of the new Brutality Will Prevail record Scatter The Ashes, soon to feature on SWNK.org. In the meantime, read it on here:

The new Brutality Will Prevail is the album that everyone knew this band could produce, plus a little bit more. Scatter The Ashes is 10 tracks of doomy, riff based, furiously intense and downright brilliant hardcore.

Following on from 2010’s Root Of All Evil L.P and 2011’s Sleep Paralysis E.P, Brutality Will Prevail have fused the two sounds they played with to create this current musical equation. There are the huge doom riffs from ROAE which are now laced with the creepy guitar licks of Sleep Paralysis and they sound bigger and better than before.

Opening track Life Lines comes in gently with a picked acoustic guitar and simple drum beat, not the in your face aggression you expect to hear from BWP, but as an opening track it does well to ease you into the next song. Sins Of Commitment quite simply, is one of the heaviest things that BWP have written as a band so far and it sets a frenetic pace that the rest of the album duly follows. THAT bass section that comes in around 1.35 owes a lot to bands such as Harms Way but the winding riff that follows is a trademark sound of BWP now.

Massive credit must be given to guitarists Nick and Ash who play out of their skin for the entire album, there are so many exciting hooks and riffs that you feel constantly bombarded. Scatter The Ashes is no one trick pony though and there are enough changes in pace and structure to keep every song interesting and to keep surprising you for 10 tracks. The riff at the end of Casket is made for people to absolutely destroy each other in mosh pits all over the world. Casket also features some of the most memorable lyrics on the whole album with the wonderfully worded line of “release my mind, body and soul, I wanna be the one who’s in control” just begging to be screamed back at Ajay wherever this is played live.

Instead of letting the pace slow down towards the middle of the record, 1348 blasts out of the speakers with perhaps some of the tightest and most aggressive music this band has written; the verse sounds like a power-violence band playing a Neurosis cover. Again at the end of the track, another riff built for people to mosh hard to, although personally I would like it to run for another 4 bars at least.

There is so much that can be said for the musicianship of BWP but what is so impressive on Scatter The Ashes is the performance of front man Ajay. Anyone who has seen the band play live will have been impressed by the live performance he always gives, the guy can control a crowd and run a set like no-one else, but on this record he steps upto the plate and becomes the complete package.

Fallen Apart in my opinion is Ajay at his absolute finest. His voice is so distinctive and charismatic and all of his best traits are laid over this track, coupled with a edgy, chug laden riff it is one of the highlights of this extremely impressive album. Fallen Apart feels like a deeply personal song, from the opening line of ‘Spent my time looking in the mirror, this old man will never change”  to the furious “everything I touch turns to dust” to the mournful “when I’m left with nothing, nothing but myself, I think I realise, what its like to be, dead” it really feels as if heart and soul is being poured into the lyrics on this record.

Closing song Scatter The Ashes is sung entirely by guest vocalist Andrew Fisher of Basement and while the song is one of the best things on the album, I personally would have liked Ajay to have the final word on this record. It doesn’t matter as his job is done and the vocal from Fisher closes the album out in a way that you wouldn’t expect. Scatter The Ashes doesn’t go out with a bang instead it fades out into the darkness, but my god does it leave you wanting more.

This is by far the best thing Brutality Will Prevail have put out and it should be their slingshot into the realms of deserved success. If you listen to one thing this year, make it this album.

Pick it up from Purgatory Records here.

EP Review: Bleak Reality – Demo

A short but impressive 4 track slice of no nonsense, no frills hardcore from Bleak Reality.

This is hardcore played at its most base level, stomping riffs and enraged vocals that target modern life and go straight for the jugular. Base level is by no means a put down towards the band, in truth it is a strange but necessary compliment. What I am trying to explain via that comment is that Bleak Reality just don’t need to do anything ‘fancy’ to make these songs awesome.

There is a really strong early Trapped Under Ice vibe to these four tracks, think Stay Cold but from a UKHC band and you’re just about on point as to the sound that Bleak Reality peddle.

The opening track ‘Bleak Reality’ is based on a simple riff and drum beat but its the no frills attitude that really impresses from the very start to the very end. The promise of this band is shown in just four songs and played in front of the right crowd every track has the potential to really set a room off.

Despite only being four short tracks there is some sort of X-Factor about this demo that has got me more intrigued and interested than many other E.Ps I have heard this year. There is a real sense of honesty and integrity behind the lyrics on display hear, the line “and when Death comes to pull me out, I wont come quietly” during Bleak Reality is such a massive middle finger of a lyric that you can’t help but clench your fists in white knuckled understanding.

To conclude this music fairly simply; if you like really well done straight up hardcore that would sound perfect in a packed out room of people going off, then Bleak Reality will be right up your street. Go and pick up a tape from Purgatory Records and download their E.P from the bandcamp. Don’t sleep on this band.

New BWP track and interview.

For anyone who hasn’t managed to pick up on this yet (if so, where have you been?) Brutality Will Prevail have set about whetting appetites ahead of their new release, Scatter The Ashes.

The band have released a video and free download of their newest song The Path. Despite the album not being ready to be released until November, the newest single has been released alongside a video which can be found here.

I recently sat down and chatted to BWP at Hevy Fest 2012 on behalf of Deadpress.co.uk – I chatted to Ajay and Nick about their thoughts regarding headlining the Redbull Stage at Hevy, their upcoming European and UK tour with Terror and what it was like to record a video.

Have a listen to the interview to get a full insight into those topics as well as other stuff the band have been up to.

Keep an eye out for my review of Scatter The Ashes when I finally get my hands on it.

2012 so far. What I’ve been listening to.

So July is upon us, over halfway through the breakneck year that is 2012.

In terms of music, and especially hardcore, 2012 has been awesome for me so far. So many good bands have come onto my radar and there have been so many moments where I have listened to a track/ep/lp which has made me sit up and really get excited about music.

I am going to take a few minutes to give something back with this post. I was considering doing a mixtape to share with you all, dear readers, but this seemed like too much effort, so instead I am going to choose a selection of my favourite bits of music that has come out this year, and if I feel inspired enough I’ll write something about them.

The absolute standout record of 2012 this year for me was Frustration with Dying Breed (you can read my full review of it here.) From the very first listen I gave this album I completely got it. The raw, tribal feel of the rhythm section mixed with the Crowbar-esque guitar work mixed with some of the rawest vocals of the year all combine to make a tour de force of a record. Featuring a tonne of cool guest vocals, Dying Breed really puts its hand up for an album of the year spot. Released on Purgatory Records I highly recommend listening to it, I’ve embedded tracks off their bandcamp, Peace And Safety… features guest vocals from Ajay of BWP fame, bang your heads.

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Next up is another band smashing it on Purgatory at the moment. If you’ve had half an eye on the scene over the past few years these Manchester bruisers will need little introduction. Broken Teeth dropped their new E.P Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked (read my review here) a few months back and have taken 2012 by the scruff of the neck since then and smashed it around a bit. Adding more of a metallic hardcore feel to previous E.P The Seeker, these guys are really showing why the Manchester scene is blowing up. Backing up the E.P with outstanding support slots for bands such as Bitter End and Backtrack, Teeth are really showing why they are a force to be reckoned with. Again, released on Purgatory, pick up a copy of this, you wont be let down. Check out the title track off the E.P here

Broken Teeth – Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked

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Another Manchester band who are blowing minds at the moment are Survival. I was lucky enough to catch Survival play at TDON7 which they announced was their second show, and even then they shone with potential. Having been on bills all over the place these lads have shown that along with Teeth, Manchester really is bringing it hard at the moment. Recently playing with Bitter End at the Star And Garter in Manchester the guys tore the roof off the place inciting one of the most intense moshes I’ve seen in a long time. They have their Demo E.P up for free download on the bandcamp which you should get on, and they have a new track up on their Facebookpage which kills it.

Survival smashing Outbreak Fest

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A band who I don’t think get enough recognition for what they are doing at the moment is The River Card who hail from my home for the last three years, Stoke-On-Trent. The River Card have shared stages with some of the biggest names in hardcore, if you want a list check their Last.Fm out!

They recently released their new record Momentum which I must say took me by surprise with how good it is. Unlike a lot of records nowadays this is a strong listen from start to finish. Massive respect to frontman Chris Smith for his lyrics on the song Cliques which deals directly with all of the bullshit floating around in the scene regarding hype bands and whats ‘cool’ – keep it real and listen to who and what you like. If you have any spare pennies you should definitely pick up this record and some merch, help the guys out as they’re friends of mine and deserve it so much.

You can listen to the entire record on their bandcamp, just a heads up, Pitfalls is one of the best songs you will hear this year.

Smitho showing some rage.

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Within the last week I got my hands on the Twitching Tongues record and instantly regretted not going to see them with Frustration and Broken Teeth (hindsight is a wonderful thing.)

This record combines heavy, groove heavy riffs with clean(ish) vocals which definitely surprised me upon first listen. Its a really easy album to get hooked on so I recommend getting a copy as soon as you can and giving it a listen, it may take one or two plays to get into, but once you do, it is completely worth it.

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In other listening, the new Pariso album will smash your skull in should you give it a chance, check out a review I wrote for DeadPress. The whole album is a total crush fest and if you’re a fan of their previous material, you will love this.

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I recently stumbled upon a band called Anguish who have a really cool Black Sabbath meets hardcore vibe, check them out if you like riffs. Coincidently if you don’t like riffs, you’re probably on the wrong blog as it is.

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And last but not least! Check out Fausto from Cheltenham, a D.I.Y project I noticed the other day. For a demo recorded in a kitchen I dig this really hard.

LISTEN HERE

I can’t post without mentioning the labels that are helping the scene be as strong as it is. Give your support to labels such as Purgatory, Holy Roar, Tangled Talk, Carry The Weight and Moshtasche Records as well as many more. Buy some merch, pick up some records and support your scene.