Veils - Clarity.

Opening on the soulful twang of of ‘Standing Alone(Isolation)’ it’s obvious Veils‘ ‘Clarity’ EP is something you can really sink your teeth into. The melodic hardcore sound is heartbreak and fury in perfect balance on this 5 track EP. With the genre focus on beatdowns and high speed aggressive noise all around, fans will want for nothing on this release. Second track ‘Caves(Anxiety)’ comes out swinging with far more energy than its predecessor with vocal stops and starts in its latter half bringing its melodic side to the foreground, though the closing line of “in our beautiful defeat” kind of stalls the tracks momentum and dribbles things to a close. ‘Stallions(Adrenaline)’ bucks and charges with the force of a quarterback after easing us in with a brilliant guitar gear change in it’s intro. ‘Stronghold (Destruction)’ throw us into the deep end, only pausing to pace its rage into bursts of heavy guitar beat-downs and consistently stormy drum work. Dovetailing splendidly into the a sombre intro for ‘Surrender (Clarity)’ that mirrors bookends the EP’s emotive start. Veils squeeze everything they can out of this sizeable intro almost teasing us with the upcoming anguished screams from vocalist Chlo Edwards and the almost ironic cry of “It’s the death of chaos. It’s the birth of clarity”. All in all, Clarity is a concise and effective introduction to Veils who prove themselves to certainly be worth their salt. Clarity balances some astoundingly stirring guitar effects against the bands aggressive sensibilities to craft something constantly in touch with these two sides of chaos and clarity otherwise known in the business as melodic hardcore. Veils – Clarity is available now via Tangled Talk Records.

Compulsory Skin's Pia Pale.

German electro industrial act Compulsory Skin have weighed in on the ongoing Occupy movement with their new track ‘The Rioter’. A song front woman Pia Pale describes as “music for the revolution”. Now streaming on soundcloud, ‘The Rioter’ is a slow burning eerie track at its opening and an atmospheric brooding soundtrack score set piece on the whole. Far from radio friendly stuff but stirring and evocative of the ongoing struggle, frustration and at times violence going on around the world as we speak. The dramatically more accessible 99% is still rough with some familiar smouldering rhythms poached from the vocabulary of Nine Inch Nails but gives mixed feelings as at this stage the instrumentation and sampling is far superior to the vocal track. While competent, Pale’s vocals don’t project with the same richness and intensity of the layered beats and in particular the moving accordion portions. All this aside, it feels like there’s a lot of bandwagon jumping to the Occupy campaign, the cult of Anonymous and the idolatry of V For Vendetta. Modern EBM and industrial is often steeped in fandom, be it on a thematic basis or an outright sample, and also, many bands have no problem wearing their heart on their sleeves when it comes to politics with their views shining through in almost everything they do. Occupy is seizing a lot of creative real estate with its use of digital media and revolutionary stance. In other words the bread and butter of the tech-obsessed dissatisfied counter-culture. Songs like ‘The Rioter’ aren’t unwelcome, but a sign of the times. The self same social media that have made this super-sized decentralised form of protest possible have allowed individuals around the world to watch as it all unfolds, be inspired and be moved. Compulsory Skin shouldn’t be penalised for that. What worries me though is the emphasis on a single subject highlighted in the band’s comments on twitter suggesting in the follow up track entitled ‘The 99%’. While freedom, fairness and rebellion are universally recognisable and timeless topics much of the Occupy tale now has its own rich but unique vernacular that limit the appeal and range of this new material. Compulsory Skin are also currently offering a number of older tracks including the spectacular ‘Twisted’ from the album ‘Naked To The Bones’ for free download via Soundcloud.

BIG BAD MED featuring Climate Of Fear, Heavy Lies The Crown, All At Sea and Taller Than Trees.

Some would say hardcore rules the roost in the Teesside club gig circuit. As a result there’s plenty of savage competition to stand at the peak. Tonight’s four band bill at Bad Medicine Rock Club of Climate Of Fear, Heavy Lies The Crown, All At Sea and Taller Than Trees is loaded with rabid, heavier than heavy hardcore bands. The newest of the four and first up, Taller Than Trees make their début with a set of six songs that are for all intents and purposes brand new. Opener ‘Six Feet Chunder’ pounds and pummels with brutal vocals from singer Paul Gent getting the band off to a tight start, immediately followed by the intense ’40 Sex’, a song that truly lives up to its name and is exceptionally raw. ’Launch Pad’ slows down to showcase the powerful grooves of bassist Ben Leighton and brutal drumming of James Spence. ‘You Best Play Dead’ sets off again at full pelt with the pacey riffage from Johnny Reardon and Craig Brudenell in a track that also boast a brilliantly executed and thoroughly evil bass solo. ‘Rule One: Cardio’ really hammers down the the bands rhythmic skill before closing on ‘The Wet Heat’ a song more focused on a rolling filthy groove with what can only be described as a spot on solo. A blistering but short set leaves All At Sea with a tall act to follow.
From the first haunting guitar wail it’s apparent All At Sea subscribe to a different flavour of hardcore; still as abrasive, but spiced with doom and melody in place of aggression. The dark and stormy heaviness of All At Sea make it the perfect fit for the hellish roars of singer Jordan Paterson. ‘Equalizer’ throws some dancey grooves against the thorny drums of Jamie Walker for a rather ferocious throw-down. A vein of Killswitch Engage mellodies run through their penultimate song to awesome but curious effect before switching back into more of a black metal gear in their closer.
Heavy Lies The Crown’s groove laden, black metal influenced hardcore cracks their set open with a gravely chaotic track that drips with bluesy charm amid the savage noise. Heavy Lies The Crown manage to deftly mix beatdowns and the thrash sensibilities of the likes of Pantera into a wall of consistently aggressive music that chugs with deep grooves and delicious dirtiness. In ‘The Family Demise’ the melodic twang of Heavy Lies The Crown’s guitars side steps this otherwise consistent deep south sound from the North Eastern boys, but it’s by no means a foul or unwelcome move. A melodic section flexes some more versatile muscles for guitarists Graham Sanderson and Dan Williams, that is still firmly in keeping with the band’s hardcore edge. This is a performance practically mirrored later in their set with guitar work that verges on the progressive. ‘Stepping Stones’ returns to the core black metal hardcore sound, bringing with it a firm metal strut that not only closes their set but cements their immense swagger.
Headliners Climate Of Fear are commonly known as “Teesside’s angriest band”. Tonight’s performance for the ‘Boro murder crew makes them fight hard for that title by matter of circumstance. These have been some hardcore bands that have swung their weight around and shown a considerable amount of balls and skill while doing so. Taking to the stage with a far more to-the-point take on hardcore, Climate of Fear do it with all the brutality and flair of their set mates. With arguably the best projected vocals of the evening making vocalist Rae’s style far more apparent, Climate Of Fear firmly grasp their role as head of the bill and throttle every last breath they can out of it. Seemingly less heavy in their clarity, Climate Of Fear are exceptionally well put together live almost to the point of disbelief. ‘Ghosts’ smacks of Raging Speedhorn in its tense chug before truly kicking in to retake the heavy crown. Performing track after track full of grooves and catchy hooks, Climate Of Fear neatly round off their set with the appropriately titled ‘Fuck Off’. ‘Fuck Off’ is easily one of the sets more aggressive numbers. All the way through, from the guttural screams of vocalist Rae to the riffs of Woody and Hodge, everything from Climate Of Fear is delivered with a sense of vigour and intent that is taken to a whole new level in their final beat-down. Climate Of Fear conquer both record levels of quality and brutal walls of noise to more than deserve their reputation. These guys are angry and want us to know about it.