PULLING TEETH

"Paranoid Delusions / Paradise Illusions" by Baltimore's PULLING TEETH is not your average hardcore album, its strokes painting a broader musical palette not unlike the boundary-pushing acts on Goodfellow Records, as well as the reliable Deathwish, Inc. The anger is still as real as it gets, but moments of respite are allowed in the midst of battle.

PULLING TEETH pack a lot of variation into 24 minutes of disc space, making it an interesting ride, to say the least. The inclusion of doom and quasi-ethereal moments, such as the morose ISIS/doom flow of nine-minute closer "Paradise Illusions" — one that also includes a heart wrenching solo and depressive spoken vocals — and the heavy doom introduction to "Ritual" are the most pronounced detours. "Paranoid Delusions" and "Unsatisfied" feature some of that as well; just in more of a CURSED, simmering rage kind of way. In other words, somebody somewhere is still awfully pissed off and probably listening to INTEGRITY at full volume. When the punches are thrown, they connect with bone shattering force, most notably the very SLAYER-esque (after the doom intro) "Ritual" and the brutal hardcore of "Bloodwolves", although even the latter includes an airy/tuneful section. Whatever the case, the future never seems too bright when this album is playing. And damn, that is some incredible artwork by Jeff Beckman! No matter the placement amidst the CDs strewn about, it always catches my eye and pulls me closer.

"Paranoid Delusions / Paradise Illusions" should appeal to those not content with straight hardcore battery. PULLING TEETH have got a good thing going here and I applaud the songwriting effort. Let us see how far they take it on the next release.