From the ever-reliable Blackout Records comes this split from two bands I’d never previously heard of, each playing a particularly ferocious form of hardcore;, KYI taking the more old-school approach. While it’s easy to write this kind of punk off as being repetitive and needlessly heavy the fact remains that there are still a few bands out there with enough imagination to prevail.
Crime In Stereo weigh in with three tracks even though ‘Twice Daily To Prevent Nausea’ is over in 45 seconds. It’s a testament to the sheer speed of the song that it manages to feel like a full two-minute song, such is the concentration of stupidly fast drumming and chunky guitar riffs (check out the 10 second ‘Two For Flinching’ by Kid Dynamite for a more extreme example). ‘It Aint All Hugs And Handshakes’ is much more melodic, treading the fine line between traditional hardcore and the updated Rise Against-style stuff. Underpinned with an implacable sense of energy and motivation which comes to the fore in ‘My Own Private South Oaks’, Crime In Stereo escape being bracketed into one particular genre due to the fact that they never remain in the same musical place for any longer than necessary. Employing a more anthemic approach on the aforementioned track, the pounding rhythm section provide the power while the lead guitar plays around the main riffs, reminding me of Fletcher Dragge slowed down with a few more 80s metal licks.
The three Kill Your Idols tracks hearken back to early Sick Of It All and Ensign with their relentless fast pace and Andy’s growled vocals. On ‘From XLII To UR90′ there’s a very Zeke feel to KYI with heavy, almost groove-laden beatdowns making way for the Kid Dynamite-esque chorus. It’s hard to pick out the specific moments when KYI really kick in since it’s full-on right from the beginning, and the cover of Sheer Terror’s ‘Time Don’t Heal A Thing’ is practically metal in the sludgy outro. KYI aren’t going to win awards for Services To Innovative Hardcore but in a way they don’t need to because they excel at the old-school, let’s-all-go-fucking-nuts style.
It’s quite canny of Blackout to bracket KYI and CIS together because it’s a marriage of traditional hardcore and a slicker, more melodic version. That’s not to say that CIS sound contrived or false, simply that it’s like comparing The Descendents with Captain Everything. It’s a short EP, only six tracks in total and I’d like to hear more from both bands before reserving final judgement – as a standalone release however it’s top-notch and offers another alternative to what is being force-fed to us through the usual channels.
Ben
www.blackoutrecords.com