New Lows- Harvest of the CarcassPart of the new wave of Metallic Hardcore bands inspired by legendary acts like Integrity, Earth Crisis and early Hatebreed, New Lows play crusty, filthy and extremely heavy Hardcore Punk mixed with elements of Death Metal, Thrash Metal and Grindcore. Thick with distortion and bowel-rumbling bass, Harvest of the Carcass is one of the most flat out heavy releases from this year.
If you have listened to any of the recent stuff from Trap Them, All Pigs Must Die or Nails, you have an idea of what to expect with this one: guitars so crusty you can hear the grime on the guitar strings, bass so low it rattles the rafters and drums so punishing the band might as well come over and kick in you the face, since they both feel about the same. Few acts can match New Lows pure aggression: the band expertly shift from two-step tempos to sludgey breakdowns to blasty Grindcore sections and back again, often all in the same song. The album moves at full speed, although the bands best tracks like the opener "Stagnant Strides" takes time to reach their extreme apex and reward the listener in full for it.
And if you have listened to any of the recent stuff from Trap Them, All Pigs Must Die or Nails, you have heard this all before. Which is not to say Harvest of the Carcass is not worth checking out: but the complete lack of originality is bound to turn some people off to New Lows well worn brand of Metallic Hardcore devastation. In truth, other than maybe the Grindcore heavy Nails, all of these modern Metallic Hardcore acts owe their sound to the work of the mighty Integrity, who were not only one of the first bands in Hardcore Punk to embrace Death and Thrash Metal, but were one of the first bands to embrace Metal's imagery, much like New Lows do with Harvest of the Carcass. That feeling of "been there, heard that" is perhaps the only issue with Harvest of the Carcass, because as a piece of entertainment this album is about as well crafted as it gets.
In the end, quality wins out over originality with Harvest of the Carcass. New Lows may not be "new," but the level of polish and intensity on this album surpasses many of the releases this year. The sheer, grimey intensity of Harvest of the Carcass is more than enough to give this album a listen, as long as one tempers their expectations.
7.5/10
If you have listened to any of the recent stuff from Trap Them, All Pigs Must Die or Nails, you have an idea of what to expect with this one: guitars so crusty you can hear the grime on the guitar strings, bass so low it rattles the rafters and drums so punishing the band might as well come over and kick in you the face, since they both feel about the same. Few acts can match New Lows pure aggression: the band expertly shift from two-step tempos to sludgey breakdowns to blasty Grindcore sections and back again, often all in the same song. The album moves at full speed, although the bands best tracks like the opener "Stagnant Strides" takes time to reach their extreme apex and reward the listener in full for it.
And if you have listened to any of the recent stuff from Trap Them, All Pigs Must Die or Nails, you have heard this all before. Which is not to say Harvest of the Carcass is not worth checking out: but the complete lack of originality is bound to turn some people off to New Lows well worn brand of Metallic Hardcore devastation. In truth, other than maybe the Grindcore heavy Nails, all of these modern Metallic Hardcore acts owe their sound to the work of the mighty Integrity, who were not only one of the first bands in Hardcore Punk to embrace Death and Thrash Metal, but were one of the first bands to embrace Metal's imagery, much like New Lows do with Harvest of the Carcass. That feeling of "been there, heard that" is perhaps the only issue with Harvest of the Carcass, because as a piece of entertainment this album is about as well crafted as it gets.
In the end, quality wins out over originality with Harvest of the Carcass. New Lows may not be "new," but the level of polish and intensity on this album surpasses many of the releases this year. The sheer, grimey intensity of Harvest of the Carcass is more than enough to give this album a listen, as long as one tempers their expectations.
7.5/10
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