The Rock Blogger

Converge. Axe to Fall. 2009. 4 stars .

Boston’s Converge has been a mainstay on the hardcore scene for well over a decade, blending mathematically precise riffs with the guttural emotion of extreme metal. Their unique sound is fast, gritty and immolating while still taking measures towards experimentation, be it with post-rock atmosphere or abrasive noise.

Axe to Fall follows the bloody trails of 2006’s No Heroes with short, pummeling tracks that coil tightly around frenetic mathcore guitar work and inhuman percussion. Longer tracks like "Worms Will Feed" and "Wretched World" are chugging, menacing slabs of noise, opening up chasms like the drone-doom metal of Harvey Milk.

With the jarring transitions and time-signature changes, Axe to Fall can be an exhausting listen. It’s a brutal and epic marathon that’s both insanely technical and aggressive. As a showcase for instrumentation, Axe to Fall is monolithic, a high watermark for bands following the hardcore genre (or it’s many hybrids). As a full, artistic work though, it may be apocalyptic but it is not quite the tour de force that 2003’s Jane Doe was. The band seems far more content ripping your eardrums to shreds than diving into the complex emotional wastelands that made that album so compelling.

Overall, this is a highly satisfying effort that is consistently intense and even awe-inspiring in places. While it’s principle aims may be annihilating any sense of hope or self-satisfaction you have, its rawness is nothing short of inspiring.

Corea. Quien Encuentra a la Madre Conoce a los Hijos . 2006. 4.5 stars .

Leave it to a screamo band to produce some of the most fluid and captivating post-rock albums around. Corea’s genre-bending sound has the same epic thrust as Godspeed You Black Emperor or Explosions in the Sky while maintaining enough of an emotionally-wrought edge with harrowing screams and raw aggression. Their build-ups however are far more immediate as they launch into beautifully layered songs replete with shimmering arpeggio riffs, intriguing effects and a cool, rainy atmosphere. Less about crashing crescendos than it is about cathartic release, this album wastes no time in drawing you into its world. The instrumental opener "El Origen Devuelve La Calma" is a stunning example of how the band combines disciplined percussive and rhythmic work with expressive guitar work that wraps around the song like wire.

Songs like "Lo Que Esta Quieto Es Fácil De Retener; Lo Que Todavía Es Débil Es Fácil De Romper" present a more straightforward punk attack, going for the juglar with raging vocals and waves of cymbal crashes. While their approach may be harsh, these moments provide a stunning contrast to their more melodic moments, encompassing a broader array of feelings and images than your average post-hardcore band. The two styles merge together quite well, especially on the psychedelic shifts of "3Sin Forma No Hay Deseo" where clean vocals clamor against climbing post-rock riffs that rip into the stratosphere. This climatic moment then give way to lumbering passages where distorted guitars build in tension before the inevitable release of screams and percussive blasts.

Skeletal guitars signal and martial drumming lead into the meditative "Las Trincheras Del Ivan". The song soon extends into stunningly intricate melodies as the vocals rasp against the melancholic lift. The chiming riffs and haunting croons on "Lo Rígido Y Firme Pertenece A La Muerte" blend together with ease, articulating their dramatic vision with memorable potency.

Spain’s Corea is easily one of the most exciting bands to embark on the post-screamo trend that has revitalize both genres. Their albums maintain a powerful flow that keeps the listener engaged and compelled. While their sound takes some time to settle into, its still gives the post-rock genre some much needed teeth to convey its spiraling urges. Nothing short of a masterpiece.

Genghis Tron. Board Up the House. 2008. 5 stars.

This is easily one of the most innovative and satisfying albums I’ve come across this year, in any genre. If Jesu, Battles, and Between the Buried and Me had all collaborated, they might have produced something as technically brilliant and stylistically unique as this. Genghis Tron mix blistering electronic touches with grinding metal riffs, establishing an awe-inspiring “cybergrind” sound of their own. Interwoven between their tight mathcore assaults are sublime ambient passages, melodic vocals and crisp IDM breaks. The sonic diversity within these complex compositions is wondrous to listen to, as the many shifting moods and textures draw you into explosive psychedelia.

While many metal bands have become increasingly eclectic in their song writing, only a select few can mesh their influences together as beautifully as Genghis Tron. Where some progressive metal albums end up sounding cluttered and incoherent, Board Up the House is as fluid as a shimmering lava lamp and just as trippy. Whether its keyboards or the guitars at the forefront of the mix, the pace and energy of this record stays consistent, flowing from one fiery song to the next.

Like Battles’ Mirrors, Genghis Tron’s Board Up the House has the power of clairvoyance, masterfully integrating a myriad of traditions to give us a clear view of rock’s postmodern future. This album seems to have it all: a strong structural basis, crushing intensity, effective soft/loud dynamics and passionate performances. So in an effort to not give too much away, I’ll just say that Board Up the House is nothing short of compelling, a testament to the progressive attitudes of the metal underground.

“Things Don’t Look Good”

“Board Up the House” Live

Protestant. The Hate. The Hollow. 2008. 4 stars.

The Hate The Hollow is a killer crust punk/hardcore album from a little known Milwaukee band. Protestant takes the grit and grime of early crust bands like Amebix and infuses it with the technicality and raw power of modern hardcore. The result is an intense storm of grinding riffs, raging vocals and suffocating bass lines.

If Converge had pared back their more melodic moments and focused more on a DIY aesthetic, they might have sounded something like Protestant. Its not all blood and dirt here though. There are some slower tracks like “Obituary” that centers on slithering math-rock riffs before the chugging maelstrom kicks in. Moments like these add balance to the fist-clenching madness of the affair and gives Protestant some ample room to push their sound further.

Like most hardcore albums, The Hate The Hollow passes by like a flash flood, leaving you feeling abraded and disoriented in a very short period of time. It delivers intensity in spades while still balancing things out with its sophisticated compositions and doom-inspired atmosphere. For its crushing density and piercing emotions, The Hate The Hollow is one of the top hardcore albums to sneak under the radar. Keep your eyes open for these guys.

An apocalyptic video from one of the most caustic post-hardcore bands around. While I still think Jane Doe is their best album, the visceral energy of No Heroes is devastating.

Suffocate for Fuck Sake . Blazing Fires and Helicopters on the Front Page of the Newspaper. There’s a War Going On and I’m Marching in Heavy Boots . 2008. 4.5 stars.

Blazing Fires is a daring, if not downright suicidal, album from Sweden’s post-hardcore newcomers Suffocate for Fuck Sake. Gorgeous instrumentals, complete with sorrowful piano keys, shimmery post-rock guitars and strings frame a dark narrative of depression and redemption, as told by an institutionalized young woman. Just as Matthew Good’s Hospital Music expressed the toils of mental illness with dramatic shifts in mood and song phrasing, SFFS plot a winding trajectory for their tortured protagonist that goes to remarkable extremes. From the cold spoken word performances to fiery screamo fits of rage, this album is an emotional roller coaster.

The band’s uncompromising vision, in all its swings and dives, is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, SFFS have pushed the boundaries of their genre, invoking post-rock song structures and avant-garde experimentation to head into territory roamed by the likes of Godspeed You Black Emperor. And just as Godspeed’s ambition was stark naked, SFFS may too drive many away with long song durations, unusual and extensive use of dialog samples and the general insularities that come from making a concept album. If you are not willing to listen to this in its hour-plus entirety, then there is simply no point in putting it on. It’s ready-made for intense introspection, to be taken in as a unified artistic experience. For all its difficulties though, Blazing Fires is highly original and compelling, plunging into a tragic saga that will, if given the chance, tug at your heart and imagination.

Fight Amp . Hungry for Nothing . 2008 3.5 stars .

New Jersey’s Fight Amp play an interesting mix of post-hardcore, noise rock and sludge metal, with aggressive and intricate songs that thrash by with burning intensity. Tight stoner rock grooves, chugging rhythms, dense bass lines and shouting vocals blaze their way across these 8 tracks, maintaining a throttling energy in the same tradition as post-hardcore heroes Converge and Today is the Day. Unlike their contemporaries however, Fight Amp leaves the more abstract frills behind and instead opt for a more ragged display of visceral power - this is strictly a back-against-the-wall kind of ride.

The band’s performance, while winding through suffocating guitar work and pummeling drums, is incredibly focused and to the point. The sludgy dynamics serves to enhance the dense sound created here, rather than taking it into any post-rock tangents - a move genre purists should appreciate. The punchy drum rolls, even in the slower sections, keep a propulsive momentum that continues throughout the whole disc. The caustic vocals are choked full of searing negativity and complement the dirty aesthetic that permeates across the crawling mayhem of tracks like "Bound and Hagged" and "Get High and Fuck". As the band alternates between speedy punk numbers and sluggish bursts of noise, the mood remains seething and crazed, making this a fine display of drug-addled catharsis.

Hungry for Nothing , being as effective as it is, evokes feelings of madness and frustration, creating an experience that is genuine and sometimes draining. While I personally prefer the more experimentalist touches found on albums like Converge’s Jane Doe , there is much to like in Fight Amp, even if their sneering attitude makes me want to kill someone. Check it.

Loma Prieta . Last City . 2008. 3.5 stars .

Short and sweet, thats how I would describe Loma Prieta’s Last City . This Oakland CA band plays speedy hardcore/screamo jams with impressive technicality, running through time signatures and epic melodies with incredible ease. As the mathematical riffs swirl around cymbal crashing and rapid fire rhythms, the howling vocals provide the emotional release for all the tension that’s built up. The occasional piano melody and gentle guitar parts help balance things out as well.

As these tunes move at feverish pace, most of them clocking in at around 2 minutes, it comes on like an adrenaline rush, leaving you in a state of shock and exasperation as you wonder what happened to that lovely and mellow post-rock guitar passage. Oh that’s right, it was destroyed under a barrage of drums and screams. But that’s ok, this is a screamo album after all and its focused on angst-ridden catharsis, throwing raw emotionalism like red paint to a wall.

Lyrical themes? Hard to discern at first. The phrase ‘Last City’ recurs, so this, along with the general tone of the album, tells me that has something to do with urban alienation and escapism. ‘The name "Loma Prieta" itself might be a reference to the devastating 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake , so maybe the anguish here is about wanting it all to fall down - or maybe they’re just observing it - either way its a fitting name.

I would recommend this to fans of any kind of punk music, well except that radio-friendly bullshit, as its hardcore attitude and complex musicianship will give your day a quick and brutal shot of energy. While its very short, and the vocals could have been a little more understandable, its still an entertaining and refreshing listen.

Follow the Loma Prieta link above to be taken to their Myspace page, where you can find links to listen to this album for free.

Today is the Day. Sadness Will Prevail. 2002. 4.5 stars.

A tour de force of misanthropy, Sadness Will Prevail is easily one of the most psychotic and disturbing albums you will ever come across. Sprawling across two discs and 30 tracks, this magnum opus is the tortured psyche held up for display, with abrasive mood swings and psychological fits that are compositionally complex and brutal in their honesty.

Today is the Day take elements from hardcore and noise rock, with grinding drums, menacing bass lines and terrifying shrieks, and melds them with an almost avant-garde flair for atmosphere and horror, utilizing film samples, sound effects, field recordings and ambient touches to stir this album’s bleak emotional undertow. There are dramatic shifts between songs here, raging between spastic riffs and pummeling drums a la Converge , and despairing passages of acoustic guitar, ambient noise and angular piano compositions.

The wide array of sounds being explored here is not merely a novelty to set Today is the Day from the rest of the hardcore pack, but serves to enhance the intense catharsis taking place, giving front man Steve Austin a claustrophobic space for his demons to run amok. With less concern placed on fitting within genre conventions, Today is the Day tread into blacker compositional territory that gives prevalence to thematics and naked emotional outbursts.

Sadness will Prevail, needless to say, is terrifyingly dismal and requires a certain fortitude to approach. But any effort made in entering the band’s uncompromising and insular black holes will be a rewarding one, if not to appreciate the vast subtleties and nuances awaiting within the madness, then to come away with an understanding of how unmitigated experimentation can release the artist’s most demented and pained sensibilities. For its unfiltered and unrelenting spasms, Sadness will Prevail remains not only a landmark for hardcore, but for dark and aggressive music as a whole, standing alongside NIN’s The Downward Spiral as one of the greatest expressions of self-destruction and personal torment.