Labels: Rookie – Sjakk Matt Plater – Sonic Temple
Review by: Alex Deller
Decent split here from two bands each with more than a whiff of Norse (hardcore) mythology about them. The Karlsruhe-dwelling Bone Idles kick things off with a Big Rock Intro before quickly blurting into a bout of urgent melodic hardcore that’s decked out in a ‘chunky’ sound that I always associate with European bands from the mid-to-late 80s, which kinda figures since their singer did time in So Much Hate. Nice. Sharing the split are the similarly-storied Danger!Man, whose LP from a few years back I dug a great deal. Have to admit that the tracks here didn’t make quite the same impact (think, really, they could have benefited from a slightly punchier production…) but they’re certainly nothing to sniff at: taut, catchy, dynamic punk that’s chock-full of rowdy-as-heck vox, tearaway melodic moments and squirrely basslines that don’t necessarily do what you expect. For my money they’re the better act here thanks to stronger songwriting and a more varied bag o’ tricks, but both bands complement each other nicely and you’d be churlish to suggest they don’t deserve roughly equal turntable time.