Trenches - s/t - CD (2010)

Labels: self released
Review by: Alex Deller

Dense, doomy hardcore from some less-than-cheerful chappies here, these five tracks exhibiting a stranglehold on the sound they want if not necessarily the dynamic knack to 100% achieve it. Best of the bunch is lead track ‘Carrier’, which burns slowly with an Ire-like negative energy and the kind of vocals that I like to think of as incredulous: a harsh, beleaguered crow-caw that summons images of a rag-clad miscreant shaking a fist at the sky in godless defiance. Elsewhere things continue along a similar path, the sound dour yet defined and shot through with a wavering dissonance that adds depth and offsets the somewhat boxy riffing. The results are always good, occasionally stumbling a little but never falling flat and providing solid enough grounds to believe that the forthcoming split with Drainland should indeed be a twofold treat.