Burn Everything - "Last Run Through the Ruins" EP

A little change of pace for myself and the majority of It Follows Posts, Burn Everything are a heavy metal/hardcore/technical/whatever you want to call it kind of band. I got this some time ago and have listened to it off and on (thanks to guitarist, Damian, for getting in touch).

The 6 songs here are heavy, technical, and have the bursts of energy and grooving parts that have become more and more prevalent in metallic hardcore. I'm not going to sit here and say things like mathcore or DEP or Burnt By The Sun- rather, its the kind of music that people listening to those bands might get inspired to play. That isn't to say that it sounds like those bands, but they could certainly play on shows with those kinds of bands. The music is not boring at all and the vocals have a good mix of clean screaming/shouting vocals to the deeper screams. The fact that the longest song clocks in at the 3:24 mark definitely helps the overall appeal of this band, for me. Many times bands can become too repetitive in beating a good riff or good idea to death, and as more and more bands seem to be trying to reign in every influence they've ever had and create some stoner tech post-metal (or whatever other clever things you might want to add in), Burn Everything play a good and heavy brand of metal/hardcore that stays fresh throughout; while wrapping it all up with the slightly introspective sounding instrumental aptly named "Crumbling Monolith".

Burn Everything proves that the wheel doesn't need to be re-invented with every single band, just as long as we don't go about flogging it with every riff and every song title along the way.

DOWNLOAD: Burn Everything - "Last Run Through the Ruins" EP

Burn Everything Facebook

I didn't include a song to play because you can pop on over to their facebook and listen to the tracks stream as you download it here. Enjoy!

Quicksand - Divorce & Dine Alone 7inches + B-Sides/Rarities Collection

Let's just say that somehow you're here and you have ABSOLUTELY no idea who Quicksand is. That having been said, they were a hardcore/post-hardcore band in the early/mid-1990's comprised of a who's who of 80's New York Hardcore bands. Taking that pedigree & experience, they traveled new ground in this band, exploring more mid-tempo music with layered guitars and sung, rather than screamed vocals. Drawing equal parts hardcore and rock, they fused a sound that has continued to strongly influence across genres for years.

That being said, the first two things in this download were posted on the old What We Want Blog, ripped from the actual singles themselves; which I must say, both kick ass. The artwork for the Dine Alone 7inch which you see to the left makes the 7inch worth having alone. To the best of my knowledge, the songs here are demos and follows the "s/t" ep released on Revelation Records, predating the first lp, "Slip."

The second 7inch here, "Divorce/Voice Killer" comes after the
"Slip" lp, but predates their final lp "Manic Compression" and was actually released as a promo single. Both 7inches showcase some of Quicksand's finer moments as they move further from a direct hardcore influence and more towards their own signature sound. Rich guitar layering & effects, an ever present bass guitar, and drums that drive things forward through a sound that almost bounces along at times.

The last inclusion here is the "Rarities & B-Sides" fan compilation. I've seen a few different versions of this in the last few years. Usually they contain the same songs, but in a different order and quality. All to often the downloads of this are ripped at 128 kbps, which is just about the musical equivalent of eating McDonals past the age of 10 years old. The one posted here is at 160kbps, save for the last track, Supergenius which I could not find on any of the 160k versions. This compilation features as it says, B-sides and unreleased tracks. There's a fair amount of demo tracks along with some live tracks and what are said to be songs from the record the band was working on when they had briefly reunited in in the late 90's (specifically '98/'99). There's a lot of good tracks here, including a version of the stellar track "Shovel", and my two personal favorites on the compilation, a cover of the Smiths "How Soon Is Now?" (bonus from an import of the "Slip" lp and the unreleased track "In the End." Listen to it, the song can just swallow you whole with that opening riff, and then the vocals just sail right over the song- I try to avoid any flair for the dramatic with the blog, but Quicksand tends to defy most conventions, even now, more than 10 years after parting ways.

Enjoy!

Download: Quicksand - Divorce & Dine Alone 7inches + B-Sides collection