I can’t say that I have ever really listened to much in the way of “Dark Hardcore”, I find that I zone out too easily when listening to more dredge-along music, that feels more about being heavy for the sake of it, but bands like Barque seem to put up a divide, adding more of a shine into the music, albeit a shine in what is still pretty fucking dark.
Although opener, Path of the Heirophant, doesn’t really hit off with an attention stealer for me, it is full of heart and then kicks into Betrayed Monarch, which is a huge blaster that somehow feels a little livelier. Absalom goes on to prove the Barque are possibly their strongest when playing at full speed with the bass growling away to the smashed out drum beats.
Coffin Cutters is nicely rounded off with Torments, the bulk of the track being a 2 and a half minute song as beastly as the rest, before crashing down into a 3 minute farewell that drones away some sweet feedback for you to soak up everything you have just heard. It is hard to dislike the EP as a whole; it all works together and there is hardly an element to criticise once you have been left alone with silence.
If after listening to this EP you don’t feel the rush to be in a small, sweaty club being deafened by Barque, then maybe you didn’t actually listen to it. That or you just really don’t like loud, obnoxious hardcore music, which I can fully appreciate. But for those of you that like your music loud, full of blast beats, screams and unrelenting guitars, you should probably give Coffin Cutters a listen.
Rating: 7.3/10
Jake Hancke – 14/11/2016
Coffin Cutters is available to purchase now from their BigCartel page, or from the Rip Roaring Shit Storm Records store (UK)
You can find more on Barque from their Facebook page.
The Cauteriser 