Baptists
Bushcraft
Southern Lord 2013
Insanely
metallic hardcore slamming into your cranium lets you know that you are
listening to the debut album from Canadian terrorists, Baptists.
Shards of feedback tunnel through crusty riffs on the scorching
opener, Betterment. Each beat hits you like a sledgehammer and
riffs tear through your psyche. A brutal assault of drum hits
cascade across your mutilated body before the sawing riffs and guitar
squeals rend your flesh on Think Tank Breed. Catchy guitar arcs
embed themselves in your subconscious as the song progresses.
Some down-tuned, bass-driven metallic hardcore with infectious
riff accents charges at full speed as Bullets doles out punishment.
At times I am reminded of Black Breath with the ferocity of the
assault and the down-tuned riffage that ensues as each song smashes
into you full-force! A determined main riff and a flurry of
varied drum explosions capture an aggressive punk attitude perfectly.
The beginning of Still Melt is the complete opposite as it has an
almost drug-fueled alterna-rock feel. The wavering riff and
bile-spewing vocals slide across a feedback squeal which is decidedly
unsettling. We are once again off to the races though as soon as
Mortar Head erupts with spasms of ferocity. The tension continues
to ratchet up until finally the track collapses from exhaustion.
Soiled Roots however is slow motion waves of simmering menace.
Tortured and angry shouts spit acid at your eardrums while the
bass guitar lumbers with a massive weight. Abandon brings this
underground bar fight to a close with demented drum beats as well as
riffs that strike with surgical precision yet still look as crusty as
the rain-choked trenches of the Somme. Baptists know a lot about
sonic violence and aren't afraid to show it. After 27 minutes,
when Bushcraft finishes, nothing but a trampled husk remains where you once stood.