Damaged Goods - "Terminal" Review

Friends like to support friends. And very fortunately, I have a lot of very talented friends. And look at Terminal", shows the band has only gotten stronger. The recording is once again incredibly solid. All the instruments are loud and perfectly balanced and pummeling. The drums are bone breaking, and the guitars have this super crunchy distortion that's like putting nails through a meat grinder. The recording is a lot more bassy this time around too, it's crushing. The range of influence on "Terminal" also differs from the demo in a few ways. There was a big hardcore punk sound that I picked up on, mostly in the chord progressions and tone of the guitars. There was grind/powerviolences too, but it wasn't totally up front. On here, the band is faster, and way heavier. Less hardcore punk and way more brutal break your face-core. I can pick up on as much Iron Lung or The Endless Blockade as I can bands like Full of Hell, Harms Way or Nails. Which naturally, makes way for some absolutely crushing breakdowns, like in the tracks "Disguise" and "Permanent Solution". It's an absolutely slammer of an EP, and one of the best I've heard this year. This should hopefully be coming out on vinyl soon too, so keep your eyes peeled for that.
that, I am able to share them with all you hundreds of people and tell you how awesome they are. Brilliantly convenient. If you don't know the NJ duo/now trio band Damaged Goods, I gotta say you're kinda sorta missing out on hearing the best young band that I can think of. And when I say young, I mean it. All members are but 17 years old now, but they play tough powerviolence/hardcore like they were born with it in their veins. They dropped a very impressive demo last year, and this first proper EP, "

Rating: 9/10

~VII

New Music Round-Up: Standing On A Floor Of Bodies, Backslider, Damaged Goods

The spring season is quickly closing in, which means new music is starting to come at us faster than a Bryan Fajardo blast beat. The middle part of this year is sure to be an absolute clusterfuck of new releases, some of which I'm very highly anticipating. Such as this new split from the best grindcore husband and wife duo ever, Standing On A Floor of Bodies. These guys released as absolutely killer record last year, and they've told me that they were working on this other split with their friends, Man Among Wolves. Well out of no where, I find out that a new track was posted and that it's coming out on a 10" record! Way to keep me informed guys, gawsh. Nah, but seriously, this new song, entitled "Nothing Wounded Goes Uphill", is a crusher. This is definitely their best and most fleshed out recording yet, and the song is probably one of the best they've written so far. From the length of the track, and the number of songs on their side, it definitely looks like they toy'd around with their trademark brevity, and maybe added a few new ideas to the mix. Can't wait to hear the whole thing and see.

Another 10" release, another duo; the best Philly fastcore band, Backslider, is right on the cusp of releasing their new record, "Consequences", which will be put out by the veteran west coast label, Six Weeks Records. Two new, but unmastered tracks from the record have been put up by the band. The first, "Born Annoyed", is probably one of the most reserved and straight forward songs that the band has done (as in most of the riffs go on for more than one measure). I was actually pretty surprised at how un-technical the song was. Not that it's a bad thing, just unexpected. The nest song, "The Lords Work" has more of the traditional Backslider insanity, and has a couple of the southern sludge-influenced riffs that they bring out every now and again. Both the tracks are bangers, and I'm very excited to hear the rest of the album.

Finally, we have a new track from my homies, Damaged Goods. Another duo too, what a nice little coincidence. These young lads, who released an excellent demo last year, are gearing up to release their new EP, "Terminal", on cassette and (fingers crossed) a 7" record. This new track, "Resolutions", which opens the EP, is a fucking slammer. The slow intro, the drum fills that lead into the blast riff, the breakdown at the end, it all kills. These kids play powerviolence/hardcore like they've had 10+ years of experience under their belts, it's sickeningly impressive. I've heard the full EP, and expect a very positive review when the time comes.

~VII

Bandcamp Artist Of The Week: Damaged Goods

This is a long long long long LONG overdue post. This here demo from Damaged Goods, my homies from NJ, is a top-notch, excellent, mosh-pit-bloodbath-inducing piece of hardcore. Professionally recorded and played by two young kids with the utmost knowledge and respect for hardcore and powerviolence of all kids, and it definitely shows; the songs on here showcase influences ranging from the discordant(Irong Lung, big influence on the riffs), to the beatdown. Fans of bands like Punch, Spazz, and the previously mentioned Iron Lung should definitely listen to this. These guys play a lot of shows, and hopefully will be recording later this year. Keep a look out, best young band going right now! Be sure to follow them on their Facebook too.

~VII