(Our supporter xBenx has compiled a series of guest posts, numbered 1 through 5, though with luck we may receive more. Each one focuses on a different band, beginning with Aftershock.)
I don’t know how or why it happened, but since the age of 16 I have been consumed by the urge to unearth genuinely head-crushing obscure brutal gems that have been overlooked by the masses. Fourteen years later, this impulse still runs through every fibre of my being. Of course, this premise is entirely subjective, but in my best estimation, you may have been unaware, or unwilling, to submerge yourself in a band’s brand of brutality because of their cursed obscurity. These posts will look to put an end to that.
We’ll start with one of my first loves: metallic hardcore, And I mean the fierce chug-fests that underpinned the mid- to late-90s and very early 2000s. Some of those bands have battered my eardrums for nigh on a decade, and will probably do so until I can hear no more. Principal among these is Aftershock, a fire-breathing behemoth from Boston, Massachusetts, who had one Adam Dutkiewicz in their ranks. Whereas Killswitch have become increasingly enamoured with melody and straightforward song structures, Aftershock were the antithesis, the blackened yin, weaving dense labyrinths of riffs and tortured vocals that forged metal’s potent heaviness with hardcore’s grit.
The progression throughout their existence was remarkable, as each new composition was increasingly malevolent compared to its predecessor. It truly is tragic (for me at least) that this sound has all but died out and is unlikely ever to return. So for now, feast upon these sermons of iniquity:
13 Responses to “OBSCURE BRUTALITY NO. 1”
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this sounds awesome! i had no idea Dutkiewicz was a part of this, did he play drums or guitar?
Glad you like it! He was on the guitar here 😉
Reminds me of Biohazard! This mixture of metal and hardcore just seems so natural. I definitely wish more bands would build on this style these days.
you might like my band Burn Your World. It’s like old school metalcore, but the metal is death/black influenced, and the core is crusty/sludgy. I hope you enjoy: http://www.burnyourworldofficial.bandcamp.com
Please forgive the shameless plug :]
Safe, will definitely check your band out, sounds tasty 😉
Thanks dude! I hope you dig it. We’re currently recording a full-length album :] I can’t wait to show it to the internets! But we still have some work to do, so in the meantime I’ll keep filling my ears with abrasive metal and hardcore.
I’ve been getting way into the old school metalcore recently, revisiting old favorites like Candiria, Snapcase, Burnt by the Sun, Biohazard, Harlots… but also discovering some that I missed like Bloodlet, Himsa, 18 Visions, and now Aftershock! Thanks for sharing this band, I’m going to go broke from all the good music people keep recommending…
I’m with you on Himsa. I just found their 2007 album (forget what it’s called) at my local record store for 5 or 6 bucks, and I can’t believe I missed it. It’s so good! (so is Aftershock, and your band btw)
Thanks dude! I unfortunately skipped over Himsa for a long time. Actually I was more referring to their first few albums with the other vocalist as those have a more directly old-skool metalcore sound, but I like all their stuff!
Actually I enjoyed that one band you shared a few posts back, the one with the performance vid. Damn, what were they called? It was good spazzy stuff. Just plain fun.
Was that Gacys Threads? The lads from Ireland? They put out a new split since that post btw
Himsa was so damned good. John Pettibone was the vocalist from at least 2001 forward. He’s now fronting another Seattle band named Heiress that I saw for the first time about 10 days ago, and man, they were really good too.
I’ve heard Heiress is cool from multiple people now, definitely gotta check them out! Concerning the earlier comment, I had mixed up the authors of some posts apparently! Gacy’s Threads is rad, but I was talking about another band with abandnamelikethis (I already forgot it again, dammit), the post was actually from Austin Weber! Sorry for the mix up
Your band has serious potential! Liking the demo, seeing as you’re from SLC, do you know a band called xReflectx? I’m really excited about Heiress, do you know if they have any releases planned Islander?
They have these things out now on Bandcamp:
http://heiress.bandcamp.com/music
Thank you for the compliments, I’m glad you dig it (I think you’ll really like the full length when it comes out!). As for xreflectx, I’ve heard their name but never seen them. I actually got the chance to see the remaining members of xclearx play a reunion show after the death of their ex-guitarist Mick (RIP), he was also the bassist in 18 Visions. It was a rad show, I wish it had happened under better circumstances.
So xclearx is another in the long line of SLC hardcore bands, have you heard them? Another good one is Cool Your Jets.