Labels: Deep Six – Draw Blank
Review by: Alex Deller
This one was a toughie. Not only is it (a) the stuff of powerviolence legend and (b) an Infest offshoot but it’s also (c) the result of lost recordings from ’92 being re-recorded in parts between 2004 and 2009 before being released at the arse-end of 2012. While it’s true that this bodged-together, Reanimator-style process worked wonders for ‘No Man’s Slave’, you also have to remember that the Low Threat Profile LP hardly came up trumps: a stark and all-too-recent reminder which meant dread and anticipation were felt in roughly equal measure before this thing was even in the mail. Thankfully the end result is fine: it’s streets ahead of that LTP album and pounds your head in like a good ‘un, the guitar sounding granular and borderline blown-out while the splenetic vocals recall hungry junkyard dogs fighting over a plate of guts. While 17 songs in 20 minutes means brisk, burly business it’s enough to get you feeling hemmed in and put your nerves through the wringer, the constant, clamouring hostility presenting a near-physical sense of being buffeted while snaggly elements like the brilliant guitar break in ‘Chew Your Own Leg Off’ ramp up the tension to scream-worthy levels. While it’s not the 90s hc holy grail and falls short of Infest’s second LP it’s still a bloody great hardcore record that manages to claw its way towards success despite having 20 years of bullshit and baggage surrounding it. Phew.