BLEEDING KANSAS

It's never a bad thing when an album starts and your first reaction is "did these guys steal MOTÖRHEAD's gear?" And when a look at the liner notes reveals that the producer is Kurt Ballou (CONVERGE, BOTCH),the picture becomes a little clearer. This is some noisy, abrasive, sardonic hardcore/metal (excise any mention of the word "metalcore" from your mind now),with a gloriously filthy tone, hoarse fuck-you vocals, and a dirty groove that should appeal to all kinds of subterranean sludge-heads.

Not saying BLEEDING KANSAS will, or should, be opening up any EYEHATEGOD tours any time soon. But they do delve into a sludgy stagger at times, and their diseased hardcore is full of the requisite self-aware irony and inside-jokey album titles (to say nothing of the little dollop of "Carry On My Wayward Son" they throw in to "Can't Help You There". There are plenty of frenzied pit-friendly moments as well, slotting this closer to the aforementioned CONVERGE, and appealing on a gritty, visceral level that belies the band's young age.

Don't be fooled by their cherubic faces and scene-kid haircuts, because BLEEDING KANSAS is some vicious shit. It's recommended if you like your hardcore served up circa when CAVE IN was still heavy the first time around, or if your idea of metal involves a lot of jagged edges, blind-drunk whiskey benders and blood-soaked manifestoes screamed at innocent passersby. While I'm more used to having this kind of desperate knife-fight metal served up to me by much older, fatter, more bearded freaks, I'll take what BLEEDING KANSAS has to offer and come back for seconds. Scads of potential and enough vein-popping intensity to impress right out of the starting gate ─ good work, guys.