Built for brutality: Eddie Brock

Eddie Brock - Brand New Day 7''
2012, A389

Eddie Brock was the name of the burly, Belgian Blue-muscled supervillain Venom, from the Spiderman comics and though I'm unsure exactly how that relates to these guys, it's somehow fitting when considering the music these guys play. It's loud, fast and most importantly, it's heavy, with a furious power violence vibe which in itself has a burly muscle-y kind of character. This ep is brief but delivers plenty in its short runtime. We get five tracks, only two of them moving beyond the minute mark, of unrelenting Slap-A-Ham-styled hardcore with lots of whirlwind flurries of high speed blasts, raging memorable riffs, loads of dirty heavy breakdowns, raspy "I-smoke-two-packs-a-day" barbwire-vocals (with some cool dual and guest vocals going on as well) and some truly vicious and angry lyrics (and some bitterly funny ones as well). This is one of those ep:s you spin repeatedly because it's just engaging enough to hook you instantly but also complex enough to warrant several listenings in a row. What's also, paradoxically, refreshing to me about this ep is the fact that the band in no way tries to reinvent anything here or inject anything new into this style, pioneered by bands like Spazz, No Comment, Neanderthal and Lack Of Interest. It's just well-written, well-played, no frills, no bullshit power violence/hardcore. That's more than enough for me. Compared to their earlier self-titled ep (which is available for free at their bandcamp site here) this is alot heavier and dirtier and the power violence influences more in your face. Highly recommended.