ninehertz

It's only been a little over a month since I reviewed a band called Rüe so I knew (along with the grammatical difference) this must be a different band altogether from the sludge crust group out of Massachusetts. The fact is was even in my sphere of listening is down to its label, No Funeral Records, a barometer of quality, encouraging me to dip in. I did not rue the decision (sorry).

This is hardcore played as if screaming into a wind tunnel, having to expel every drop of sweat, find every decibel, shed your tears, stretch every sinew and pour all you have - it is frantic, and if you can't be energised by music like this then someone check your pulse. That's how I felt after merely the first song, decay, but it is a sentiment that holds the length of the album.

From there it gets eve more manic at times, which didn't necessarily seem possible. It becomes so frenzied and out of control on occasion it is effectively dipping its toe into grindcore waters, yet despite its ferocity (and because of it), I'm practically rocking around my living room listening to this, smiling like an idiot, which tells you this is a great record.

As it heads into its second half it doesn't let up, the acerbic vocal's on seven stars screamed as if for life, more likely for a vitriolic anger, the track bouncing off the walls fuelled by their own pure energy. silver has that face in the storm sensation once again, this scream grindcore beast of noise rock has all the energy and emotion you'd expect from such a combination, and yet more than the sum of its genre parts.

It ends with altar of stone, a nod to the emoviolence of the Alerta Antifascista school, obliteration-speed mania, an ethos of it being the last track so leave everything out there. It's lovely stuff, an appropriately wonderful end to an extremely good record.