Incendiary – “Thousand Mile Stare”
Album Reviews | May 23rd, 2017
Record Label: Closed Casket Activities
Genre: Hardcore, Metalcore
Link: incendiary.bandcamp.com
Buy on Amazon.com
The term “Hardcore is dead” gets tossed around a lot nowadays by people who are oblivious to the fact we live in time where there’s a revival of sorts. Bands like Turnstile and Code Orange are taking hardcore back to a point in the late 90s/early 2000s when it was inventive and creative.
While these bands like that aren’t exactly doing anything that’s never been done, they seem to be reminding me of what it was like throwing on those albums from bands like Earth Crisis, Snapcase, and so on for the first time. Add Incendiary to that mix; a band who harkens back to the upstate NYHC/NJHC scene reminiscent of bands like One King Down, Indecision, Nora, Most Precious Blood and so on. What’s cool is while they have that heavy NYHC sound era very late 90s/2000s, they also have substance to the lyrics tackling issues with songs like “The Product Is You”, “Sell Your Cause” and “Front Toward Enemy” all while still providing plenty of deep grooves for the pit. One would almost think that when listening to those songs going back to Zack during his Inside Out days. No Purity has an almost very early Converge feel to it. “Fact or Fiction” sounds like riff wise it could hang with the best of Snapcase.
Bottom line: While it’s easy to point out this sounds very much like a revival, it’s bringing attention to sounds that haven’t been to prominent in hardcore for some time; hitting new ears for the first time. This is one of those records that can’t be ignored and I’m sure years from now people will be pointing this one out as one of the best records of this new breed. If you know anyone that uses that “Hardcore is dead” phrase, kindly hand them this album to shut them down.
Notable Tracks: Awakening, Front Toward Enemy, No Purity, Poison
Overall Rating:
