ninehertz

Arüspex administer a sharp blast of Californian crust to inject some stimulation and adrenaline into your day. Released on the ever-incredible Fiadh Productions, the nine tracks of The Death Instinct are a jolt to the system in amongst the usual doom gloom played around these parts.

This is of crust a particularly blackened persuasion, darkening the punk around it, especially through the harsh vocal delivery. Wither picks up the speed even further, a Motorhead charge forward, like a crust NWOBHM with blackened screamo inflections, and as energetic and fun as that sounds.

The album’s mid-section provides some welcome musical diversity, dark-end screamo battling along on the excellent Traitors, although the vocals remain atypical for skramz, but certainly there is the telltale guitar patterns. The following In the Black is even surprisingly melodic (again, despite the grim demeanour of the vocals), providing a pathos and an almost epic statement to reinforce the anticapitalist lyrics.

There’s a bit of a dip towards its end after that, although it ends on a high with the belting paced neocrust of Despair is a Weapon. That little drop off aside, this is an invigorating record, punk as it should be proving vital through its anger.