Black Breath’s Unbridled Destruction and Sundry Property Damages
Ah, it’s that raucous heavy metal the kids love so damn much, all full of party riffs, references to black metal, d-beat crossover thrash, piss, vinegar, etc. My but they do rock.
When Southern Lord shows an interest, so does this site, and since they saw fit to pick up the four-song Razor to Oblivion EP from Seattle pentaband Black Breath, I figure it’s bound to be worth a look see. I’ll say this: it’s the first release I’ve heard in a long time with a “go!” on it.
That comes on “Fatal Error,” the second of the four cuts on Razor to Oblivion following the title track’s quick introduction to what kind of nonsense and zany misadventures Black Breath are getting themselves into these days. “Fatal Error” also has the aforementioned black metal part, but “Razor to Oblivion” was pretty much straightforward crossover, and for the most part, “Beneath the Crust” and “Murder” follow suit. All four songs are short enough that the EP is over in just under 15 minutes.
There are pickslides, guitar triplets, and even a little ping ride, but in trying to figure out what appealed to Southern Lord enough for them to issue Razor to Oblivion, it’s got to be that older school feeling of dirty thrash intensity. One imagines that, after seeing Black Breath live it’s easy to become enamored of their sound — and if that’s the impression given from these four songs, it’s not a bad thing.
The strange dichotomy of it all though is that the deeper Black Breath goes into the realm of old school crossover, the more modern they sound. I feel old and young listening to this. That’s not to say Black Breath are trying to hone in on the whole re-thrash thing. I honestly doubt honing in on anything other than kicking ass is a major concern for them one way or another. For what they’re doing, they seem to hit that target just fine.
Lively, with genuine energy that carries across in short, intense bursts of heavy aggression. Haters of the new school could do worse than to check out Razor to Oblivion, although maybe I’m just trying to convince myself of that because it’s on Southern Lord. Damn you, context!
Tags: Black Breath, Seattle, Southern Lord
