I like June. It’s cold. It gives me a reason to sit somewhere dreary and windy and listen to someone scream themselves hoarse while the world breaks apart around me. So because of that, I’ve found a few bands that really kind of hark back to those good old days of say… Leathemouth (LeATHERMØTH if you’re being really pedantic) and more recently United Nations.
Yotsuya Kaiden - Крошка-комета (Little Comet) [Ukraine]
Talk about dynamic. Switching between full on, breakneck screams to these really, Ghost Bath-esque instrumental pieces, to classic post hardcore clean sections. It really reminds me of the good post-hardcore I used to listen to when I was younger, like early Alesana or From First to Last. If you’re feeling angsty, this is the place to be.
Tracks like ‘Поток’ and ‘Звон солнца’ recall the rockier roots that this genre use to champion, mixed with elements of that spazzy, off the wall post hardcore craziness that made it so enjoyable to begin with. Never straying into downtuned territory, Yotsuya Kaidan keep the atmosphere of heaviness over the literal musical form of it, but this is exactly where you want them to stay.
Yotsuya Kaidan - Bandcamp
Yotsuya Kaidan - Facebook
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Thule - I [Mexico]
Unsettling noise coupled over startlingly high tuned guitars and screams. The best thing about the album though, is the drums are mixed really high, and the vocals really low, it’s a unique experience. Contrasting slow, almost whimsical strings against jarring sections of screeching guitar and thundering drums is the modus operandi for this album; so refreshing.
Not only are the songs instantly, achingly good, they also include subtle dynamic shifts; ‘Decadencia’ employs a small break of silence to shift the mood and direction of the song, whilst ‘Bosque: Eterno Retorno’ mixes with the level of the drums to send the listener through a loop. You’ll be straining to hear the impeccable snare work only to be absolutely flooded with an uplifting return to insanity.
Thule - Bandcamp
Thule - Facebook
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Otrov - Epitaph [Croatia]
Otrov is probably the least screamo band in this list, but retains strong elements of crust and grind in its ultimately hardcore DNA. Fast guitars and faster drums get across the overall air of searching desperation that the vocalist exudes in a tumultuous fashion. Moments of groove splice in a bit of humanity to the madness, but Epitaph is largely harsh, fast and brutal.
The shorter songs on the album, ‘Obsoloescence’ and ‘Overpriced Maladay’ reek of fury and fire. More crust than hardcore, these songs abrasively power through their two minute runtimes with reckless abandon, bulldozing everything underneath them into a sort of impoverished dust. Album closer ‘Pillars of Mass Consumption’ is somewhat slower, but no less angry. A fitting way to end an exercise in aggression.
Otrov - Bandcamp
Otrov - Facebook
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