It’s a well known fact that Stoke-on-Trent isn’t the best of areas to say the least, but if there is any defence for this stain on the map, it is UK hardcore heavyweights THE RIVER CARD. Having toured with the likes of Killing The Dream, Down To Nothing, Reign Supreme, and Cruel Hand, it’s clear this band have well and truly earned their credentials as one of the most respectable and hard-working, hard-touring bands in the UK scene at present. Released prior to their upcoming American tour, The Great Fall EP is a nine minute assault worthy of levelling up to the most revered of hardcore untouchables.
Opener and title track ‘The Great Fall’ boasts an onslaught of brutally heavy riffs and utter vocal hostility enough to soundtrack the most violent of rages. Bringing the almost-dirty and much dismissed phrase ‘melodic hardcore’ to a new, more than acceptable level, ‘Momentum’ builds just that before exploding aggressively into one of the groups stand out tracks. Destruction without the classic hardcore hyperspeed is territory not often trodden in, and even less frequently done well. However, The River Card have managed to succeed in creating balls out, hard hitting punk fury without leaning towards any powerviolence-esque terrain.
It’s often thought that the UK hardcore scene is less than favourable compared to its overseas counterparts, however, it’s bands such as The River Card that are slowly but surely changing this image for the better. Punk rock is finally returning to its British roots.
OLIVIA JAREMI