There’s something timeless about a good old-fashioned black and white music video. You can probably think of ten off the top of your head. Eschewing colour and frivolity, the grainy, gritty monochrome video doesn’t take away from the heart and heft of the track behind it, giving the music a visual aid that never overpowers the riff. Today, we’re psyched to bring you a brand new video, in this style, from one of the UK’s brightest new ‘core bands, Black Coast. Don’t expect a narrative or outlandish concept, as previously mentioned this is a no fuss view of the band in their element – playing riffs in the dark and being moody as fuck.
Released on the 9th of this month, Ill Minds, Vol. 1 is, as the kids say (I think), ill. The first of two EPs from the band, it’s a hearty dose of angst-soaked hardcore with relatively clean edges. Other coverage has compared them to While She Sleeps and Beartooth but honestly, nah. I’d stretch that Black Coast deserve better comparisons than that. Heavy Blog darlings Bailer, Stray From The Path, and Cancer Bats are more suitable, I’d say. “Ill Minds” itself definitely belongs in the nu-school of barked hardcore (barkcore?) and is the most satisfying cut from the EP it shares a name with.
The accompanying video – and the main reason we’re all here today – is a strobing look at the band in full swing and on the road. The blurred lines of endless motorways and the unseen but obviously present service station Costa cups are an indicator of the band’s furious tour ethic; touring that has seen them hit Japan last year and earned them a pretty big spot opening for King 810. Putting my feelings for the Flint natives aside, that’s a big gig. Anyone interested in any of their end of year shows should already be following them here and, if it’s not yet already a regular part of your riff schedule, should be listening to the rest of Ill Minds, Vol. 1. Not very rotten, but definitely good ‘core.