Surveyor: 'No Life, No Future'

Surveyor - 'No Life, No Future'

I think beatdown hardcore seems to be developing a greater following in this current time and over the past few years has seen a massive increase in the number of beatdown, down-tempo style bands. The definition of 'heavy' though is changing throughout this scene and it feels that each band is trying to outdo another with heavier and heavier breakdowns (nothing like a bit of friendly competition I guess). In this instance Surveyor are new on the block from California US and oh boy, their first release No Life No Future left me feeling like I’ve had all of my teeth kicked out!

Although beatdown style hardcore isn’t the most technical or adventurous approach, it still packs one hell of a punch. From listening to this EP for the first time I felt the idea of Surveyor is to slam crowds with chugging down tempo riffs and ninja kick worthy breakdowns that make you wanna punch a hole through the wall. This is straight up gritty beatdown hardcore played with 500% pure negative attitude. The first track No Life kicks off with catchy double bass and a drawn out intro section which soon snaps to a slamming tough guy breakdown and throaty aggressive vocals. To me it sounds a little reminiscent of bands like Drowning and World of Pain and the heaviness should raise an eyebrow or two.

Surveyor havn’t set out to be groundbreaking and bring nothing new to the table but tracks like Vida Dura and Lost Sleep definitely show an onslaught of bulky guitar two step rhythms and lots of strung out build ups to yet more fat breakdowns. The deep throaty vocals fit perfectly for this style of hardcore with lyrics to match especially in the track No Future.

All in all this is a mosh fest of a record and I think it’s pretty clear they have achieved their main mission of releasing a heavy and angry record that all fans of this genre should enjoy. I have to say if you do like beatdown hardcore, this ain’t half bad, check it out and buy it below.  

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Warhound: 'Freedom'

War Hound - 'Freedom'

War Hound are back and are better than ever with a brand new EP release titled Freedom. With a new and improved line-up this is an EP not to be missed out on. If you are not too familiar with this band then here is a little background information for you. Based in Chicago (US) they started in 2009 and their first releases Call of the Hounds and Return of the Hardstyle gained them appreciation in the hardcore scene and last year they released a full length Colder Than Ever which was awesome and in the vein of bands like Biohazard and Fury of Five.

I have been looking forward to this EP for a while now and it is nowhere near disappointing. This smashed all my expectations and they have completely redefined their sound and have developed incredibly as a band. I can’t quite put a genre to it but imagine a mix up of Biohazard, Korn, hip-hop, intense screaming, dark metallic hardcore, beatdown style and BOOM you've got War Hound. The new song structures and lyrics are also a big step up from the last release.

Opening with the track Anger this is an instant favourite for me, this is a solid 3 minutes of pure aggression and heaviness. Constant chugging guitar riffs and crushing drum beats dominate this and towards the end part of the song there is an earth shaking breakdown which repeats a few times and really gets stuck in your head. Stress follows this and really shows off Ronnie Vinal’s vocal power of raw screams and pure anger. Towards the end of this track there is a very strange harmonic guitar melody that is very Korn-esque which I love.

This then continues into the second half of the EP on the track Jealousy but soon breaks out into some slow, down tuned guitar ring outs. The pace starts to slow down throughout this track and into Fear but it never gets boring. They throw in some technical guitar solos alongside the droning chugs and heavy hitting drums and yet again there is a frenzy of crazy raw screams and gang shout outs which shows a great contrast between the paces and pitches.

Freedom stands out to me as a fantastic release and shows some very strong beliefs and attitudes that the hardcore scene should have! War Hound have created a monster of a record so do not sleep on this! They are on a tour later this month in the US with Lionheart and Havenside which I am jealous I can’t attend as am based in the UK. Hopefully War Hound will try and play here again in the near future. I’d love to see how the new material goes down live!

Freedom is currently available for downloads at the below links:

iTunes

Bandcamp

Knuckledust tonight in London

This flyer speaks for itself. If you happen to be around London tonight then The Black Heart in Camden is where you want to be going to. It' going to be a fun evening of hardcore punk and of course who could resist seeing London heavyweights Knuckledust! The amazing thing about this show is that it is in aid of the victims of Typhoon Haiyan that took place in the Philippines. Doors open at 6pm, get there early to avoid disappointment and it's only a fiver! Don't sleep on this. Band info below:

Knuckledust
Inherit
Stuck in a Rut
Street Beef