Making only its second appearance now, Grind My Tears is the screamo/”skramz” centric counterpart to our reoccurring Grind My Gears column. This is necessary as screamo is, admittedly, the far superior counterpart to basically any other genre with blast beats. It may not be peoples favorite thing to hear but its the hard truth, and therefore must be shared.
Getting all that pertinent information out of the way it’s on to the first part of the column for the week. Hailing from Austin, Texas Lyed plays an extremely screamo oriented style of metalcore. This works in the bands favor as, while they still remain the raw emotional impact of screamo, the more in general of “tightness” of metalcore helps to make it all feel a little more full. There are still blasts galore and plenty of screaming but we also get a nice, chuggy little breakdown thrown in there to spice it all up. It’s an oddly groovable part for a sound rooted more in screamo and the “dirty” parts of metalcore, but works wonders to act as a closing statement for the track. The new record, The Immolated Earth, will be up for preorders and released digitally July 18th through Middle Man Records, Zegema Beach Records, and Contrition Records. You can stream the track mentioned above, “Halos of Asura”, below.
Other than that rather stellar new track, it’s been a pretty strong week for screamo and emotional/chaotic hardcore in general. Richmond, Virginia’s fan (and personal) favorites Ostraca put out an undeniably powerful new record with Last. It expands further on their neo-crust tinged sound, creating massive soundscapes before crushing the listener with the emotionally yowling we’ve all come to love. However, as much as Last retreads on the classic Ostraca formula, it also shows a much more mature band as they place a further emphasis on the ambiance they create, as well as how long they explore it. This is a highly, highly recommended listen for all of those who enjoy acts such as City of Caterpillar, Pg.99, and Fall of Efrafa.
However where Ostraca plays a meticulously dynamic, drawn out style of hardcore their San Diego, California peers in SeeYouSpaceCowboy opt instead to pack as much punch as possible in as short of a space as possible. On their first EP, Fashion Statements of the Socially Aware, the band finds themselves dipping their toes into the often forgotten “sass” grind of such prolific West coast acts as Blood Brothers and The Locust. The result is a beautifully sassy record that takes aim at everything and blast beats its way through doing so. The record is chaotic, hectic, and entirely lovable in the sneery, smirky way that any good little shit would be proud of. This record is critical at a time when hardcore and extreme music seem to be back to masculine posturing to an extreme again, taking jabs at all of it and taking no prisoners doing so.