Work for It: 'No Escape'

Work for It - 'No Escape'

Poland’s Work for It brings the hardcore sound back to basics with heavy riffs, hard-hitting mosh parts and tough sounding vocals. In 2011 they released a demo, which I quite liked despite the sound quality, and their latest EP No Escape released in December is a great progression and most definitely a record to check out. There is a perfect mix of older and modern style hardcore sounds in this EP, with definite influences from bands like Next Step Up and Madball evident in their music, but with a modern twist, similar to bands like Soul Search and Backtrack.

Poland seems to have a thriving hardcore scene at this present time taking influences from heavier styles. Work for It are no exception - playing a very angry and stomping sound - I found No Escape to be very pleasing to my ears. The record opens with the track Defenceless starting with a nice grooving sound and soon going into some heavy guitar riffs and angry raw vocals. This sets the whole tone of the record, as each track gets more relentless than the next. The actual structure of each track is very simplistic but who cares, it works so well! The next track keeps up the fast tempo and contains some nice mosh-worthy riffs that make you want to smash your room up.

Already Dead kicks into gear on the second half of the record and made my hairs stand on end with the smashing breakdown at the beginning and end of the track. You can really sense the aggression from both the sound and lyrics, which is just awesome. Condemned is my favourite track though and wraps this record up. The lyrics and sound is very straightforward and down to earth and the crashing drums really added to the impact.

No Escape was available to pick up from The Essence (Founded by Inherit’s vocalist Adam Malik) however I believe that they have all sold out so lucky people who got hold of this. If you dig hardcore music then you will love this record hopefully. Check it out here.

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I Stared Into the Forest: 'Unframed Pictures of Our Epilogue'

I Stared Into the Forest - 'Unframed Pictures of Our Epilogue'

I stared into the Forest are a four piece mathcore band from Romania. Last year they released their debut EP ‘Society Discontinued,’ and have just released their new record, Unframed Pictures of Our Epilogue. What inspires me about this band are their DIY ethics and attitude towards everyday topics, the main one being discrimination. Another factor I really like about I Stared into the Forest is the style of music they play. There aren’t too many bands from Romania that incorporate hardcore, mathcore and screamo into every song (well not that I have heard of anyway.) I’ve read reviews on this record already and they haven’t necessarily been positive but I think this band have a lot to offer and should be given more of a chance.

The whole Mathcore sound may not be new but this band seem to be progressing at a fast pace and they are one of the least generic bands I have heard in a while. The heavy churning guitar riffs and high pitched screaming kick off the EP in the track No Longer Here. The technical parts from the lead are tangled in a frenzy of toned down breakdowns and sounds awesome. I like the recording quality of this EP as it adds to their whole DIY sounding style, although it sounds quite clear and mastered there is still a low budget sound to it, which to me, adds appeal. There are definite influences from more mainstream mathcore bands such as The Bled and Converge that can be heard especially through the second track Failing Lungs. The time sequences are perfect on every chord and fits well in each track; I love the energy coming through from this record.

The tracks Their Crooked Teeth and To Hang by a Thread show a lot of passion and I love the chaotic structure of these tracks. Although I really enjoy the tracks on this EP there aren’t any songs that particularly stick in my head as each one contains a particularly different song structure and it is hard to pay attention to certain sequences but nonetheless it’s definitely a record worth checking out. You can download both of their EPs here. I believe that the 7 inch will be available in the near future to purchase on Fading Halo Records.

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Losin' It: 'No Apology'

Losin' It: 'No Apology'

Losin’ It have recently burst upon Florida’s hardcore scene and seem to be making a pretty big impact. Their last release Danger Zone got decent feedback from people and I really enjoyed it. This month they have just dropped their new full length No Apology which sounds damn good to me.

The sound of this record is nothing original but who cares - it does exactly what it was set out to do. After listening to this, I wasn’t blown away by it but I did find it incredibly catchy and wanted to listen to it again and again. You can definitely hear the influences coming through from bands like Floorpunch, Side by Side and Ten Yard Fight bringing back the lively youth crew sounds. That’s one of the big points of why I really enjoy listening to Losin’ It. Instead of taking elements of traditional hardcore sounds and putting a modern twist they keep it fun, catchy and DIY sounding, which sounds spot on.

The tone is set from the first track of the record Bitter Taste which starts in a frantic guitar solo leading into a fast paced punk hardcore sound with fast and pissed off vocals to go alongside it. The next track Brainwashed Youth kicks in with some rapid thrashy (not in a metal way) guitar sounds and fast tempo drum beats which goes into one of the catchiest basslines that breaks the track up into a slower part. Of course, this doesn’t last long as it breaks out into more crazy riffs. The pace of this album never changes, each tracks is as fast as the next.

Glass Palace is one of the more memorable tracks off the record with a quality sounding side to side part with guest vocals and a breakdown(ish) part at the end. Out also has a moshy heavier sounding riff in the middle of the track adding a bit of variety. There is also an instrumental track Class Dismissed that includes a crazy solo leading onto the finishing track Popularity Contest which is one of my favourites. Yet again loving the catchy bassline on this and brings the album to a nice close.

This is a very short album clocking in at around 25 minutes with 10 tracks but it’s an entertaining listen. Do yourself a favour a check them out hear and if you like it get the record here.

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