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Solid Ground and Bleed Into One…

Solid Ground - Get Used to ItI was psyched as hell when this package showed up because Germany's Dead Serious Recordings has put out some killer shit and I had been wanting to check out more of it for quite some time now. I popped in Solid Ground's "Get Used to It" first and I'm not sure if I've ever heard a band of this nature from Switzerland before. They're calling this their debut "full-length", but I have to respectfully disagree on that one, because not only is the disc just over a mere 21 minutes long, but there are only eight new tracks—one of which is an intro that leads into the three tracks from their split 7" with Never Enough, which close things out, so...

However, with that being said, this band absolutely fucking rages, and this is some of the absolute best heavy and super pissed hardcore I've heard in awhile—right up there with American bands like Allegiance in terms of its overall furious energy (not to mention superb vocals that have their own identity happening). I just eat this shit up, there really aren't enough hardcore bands out there that can write songs that actually cut to the chase and really convey a convincing sense of anger and emotion that I can identify with like this, so I have to commend these guys on a job damn well done. Excellent recording, too. Crunchy as fuck and with a nice, clear mix to boot—plus the three tracks from the earlier recording session sound shockingly consistent with the new tunes, which rules. This is the kind of shit that seriously makes me want to crack heads and fucking destroy all living things, I totally love it.

Solid Ground "Get Used to It"
Solid Ground "No Easy Answers"

If you listen to any hardcore beyond the year 1995 and don't like this, you're a complete idiot, plain and simple. Stop fucking around and buy this shit immediately:

@ RevHQ

Bleed Into One - Birth. Struggle. Death.One of the latest releases from the Dead Serious crew is the sophomore full-length from their fellow Germans Bleed Into One, "Birth. Struggle. Death." These dudes churn out metallic hardcore that blends a base of relatively traditional chord progressions and slightly slower breaks with some unexpectedly rocked out little bursts as well as occasionally metal-based riffing that has that European edge to it. There are a couple of areas where the vocals sort of do a strained-sneering-in-key kind of thing that's not quite singing but sort of comes close, and along with the sporadic clean break or tactful melodic snippet offer plenty of variety to make for a pretty solid listen all around (also be on the lookout for lots of wacky bass "pops" ala Turning Point). The recording's pretty crisp but I do wish the guitars were heavier, though turning up the bass would probably do the trick for sure (but they'd have to kill those "pops" to keep them from being way distracting, which would probably be a good idea since most of the basslines are pretty sick and definitely have a Cro-Mags feel going on). It sounds pretty damn good, but with a little extra punch they'd absolutely benefit. I'm digging the cover art with the almost Pushead-esque illustrations and metallic bronze inks and shit, though. Good stuff.

Bleed Into One "Build the Sky"
Bleed Into One "Rest in Peace"

A lot of hardcore fans in the US still have a tendency to ignore bands from overseas, but I'm telling you, "metalcore" may be an extremely dirty word in America right now (with good reason), but over in Europe there are a lot of great bands still playing a 90's sounding blend of genres that really hits the spot. So pick these jams up if you're down, and remember that there's a whole world of music out there to explore:

@ RevHQ

Comments

  1. Man that Solid Ground stuff is seriously near-perfect for the style. Fucking awesome.

    Unrelated: Since you’ve done Orange 9mm and Farside entries, when are you gonna do one for Supertouch? haha

    4.4.2006 | By mark p.

  2. dead serious is a nice label and i really like the bleed into one cd!  more americans should check those out.

    4.5.2006 | By EMS / COREGASM / SA MOB

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