Labels: Plenge
Review by: Andy Malcolm
Shit Shit Shit. The Exelar. This band is owning my arse right now. I haven’t heard emo
violence played this well in for-fucking-ever. They play several tracks of lightning
fast insanity on here, with that essential grasp of a vague melody that runs right
down the middle of everything. They even dip into moody emo breakdowns on some songs,
before coming right back at you with a blitzkrieg of drums and guitar and just utterly
angry sounding screams and hoarse yells. I am reasonably certain that these folks have
the same vocalist as I, Robot. Yup. Take that I, Robot 7″ (one of the definitive
records in the chaotic emo genre – “A CIRCLE NOW COMPLETE!”) and make it more
manic. The balance between the devilishly dark brooding moments and totally spazzed
out craziness is perfect. Some songs are slower and contemplative, the rest just
explode with a fury and power rarely encountered in the fashion conscious world of
chaotic hardcore. Wonderful, I am listening to this over and over. In summary, think
of a style of hardcore punk innovated by Assfactor 4, honed by End of the Century
Party, and revitalised by the Exelar. They are simply drop dead stunning on this here
record.
On the flipside we have With Love, from Italy. They sound like a band that has got
down their act of being a tribute band to Volume Eleven to a high degree to me. Lots
of yelping and “ooooh, my pants are tight and i have a white belt, nyah nyah nyah!”
*wave my hand in the air* going on. Keyboards thrown in to the mix. I am surprised not
to hear the guy go “It’s hard to breathe inside of a vacuum”. Still, maybe they never
even heard Volume Eleven. If you haven’t, you need their first 12″ because it’ll blow
you away. With Love are very good at this style, and I enjoyed it, but man. They sound
more like Volume Eleven with each song. What the fuck? I like the guitar bit that
sounds like a chicken. By the way, Volume Eleven. Did I mention Volume Eleven? And you
don’t get no 3D glasses with this. I’m going to listen to Volume Eleven now. I bet
With Love are pretty too. Art bastards.