Year of the Knife : "Internal Incarceration"

This band comes from the new school of hyper aggressive hard core than is metallic in its punishing intent. The way the pound the riffs home is very hard core. The vocals are also hard core and not growled. What they do is more impressive onthe first song than it is the second which does not bode well for what my over all feelings are going to be in regards to what they are doing. I am fine with you being heavy as fuck as long as you write songs. Just ask Nails and Phobia. Two bands that are heavy as fuck but still write songs. The swtich up the attack a little on " Stay Away".  There is a little more of a growl on a few places here , but the vocals are typically pretty one dimensional . The have more purpose than just being an obligatory voice as they punch into the openings. By the time we get to "Manipulation Artist" not only are the vocals beginning to run together from song to song , but everything else is as well.

"Final Tears" attacks with the same mean spirited nature as the other songs have. There is a touch of Slayer to the drums that give it just enough finesse . The more thrashing moments are what this album needs to lean into. These are moments are where they capture a groove rather than just an endless stream of blunt force truama. "Premonitions of You" sounds like a break down in motion. Violence is the only dynamic here, but they some how make it work on this song. Lyrically it is the same admonishments that hard core bands are always dishing out. It is like a slef help speaker yelling at you. The drums go into that punk beat I am not fond of . This does not aid the monotany of the vocals. 'Sick Statistic" is a little more chantable when it comes to the spit fire of the vocals.

The guitar hits like concrete on "Eviction" , but you are numb to the beating they have been dealing you. They nail the kind of riff they need to be attacking your ears with on "Nothing to Nobody". Even as mean as the riff is there is only so much your ears can take before it runs together. Sound wise the album is great. It is dense and powerful. How the sound are put together into the song is where they find challenges. The kind of 90s tough guy barking we heard back in thedayfrom bands like Damnation AD comes intoplay on the apocalyptic "DDM".  I will give this album an 8.5 , the hype of it being more metal than hardcore is unfounded by, there is a certain welcome levelof familiaroty whenit comes to hardcore. This album comes out August 7th on Pure Noise Records.