EARLY BLACK: “III: Unconditional”

Mark My Words, 2019

Music: Hardcore

Website: https://www.facebook.com/EarlyBlackNoise/

Duration: 24:00 minutes (8 tracks)

Country: U.K

If there’s anything bigger than life, its Hardcore! Even though that sounds a bit “cringey” or “cheesy”, for me Hardcore has always been a drug for “escaping reality” and escalating brutality(that was for the sake of rhyming only!). Seriously though, I have been a huge music enthusiast and over the years I have kept a close eye on the growth of Hardcore. Bands such as Converge, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Bulldoze, Candiria, Snapcase and many others introduced me to the various flavors of Hardcore. I got addicted to them. Converge was my Crystal Meth and I was always in search for newer bands who tried to sound like them. Even though, Kurt Ballou has made it clear that they aim for a peculiar sound-I convinced me to find at least one band that try to sound like them. And…here we are!

Mark My Word Records is my go-to source for analyzing the UK Hardcore scene. I don’t call myself a “Music Nerd or a Deep observer” but I do see a huge potential in the UK scene especially when there are bands like Early Black releasing albums. Early Black is a band that constantly try to challenge themselves into making a unique record instead of sticking to a formulaic sound. Their latest effort, III: Unconditional proves the same.

The album flaunts 8 tracks with a total running time of 20 minutes. Upon listening to the album from front-to-back one could easily tell that Early Black is onto something. The album opens up with “Self Critical Acclaim”, a song that will surely melt your face! With an aggressive tone backed with angst-filled vocals. The song reminds me of Converge. They might not be a Converge-doppelganger but their agenda of making unique sound well matches what Kurt Ballou from Converge does.

Their sound is very diverse and they found a perfect way to blend in melody alongside the aggressive sound. This is portrayed on my favorite track on the album, Drain. This 3-minute track starts off slow and picks up the pace gradually ending in a colossal and aggressive fashion. Moreover, an interesting thing that I noticed is that the next track Jasmine picks up the pace back from Drain and starts in an aggressive fashion rather than implementing melody, which helps in a better transition. I’m not sure whether it was intentional but it really is brilliant for them to think in such a way.

Early Black is a band that I would keep my eyes peeled for. I’m sure that these guys will find mainstream stardom soon since there sound is perfect for those who worship Converge. I won’t be surprised if they open for Converge in the future. I’m just waiting for Kurt or Bannon to find these guys and share their thoughts. A perfect album to spend your money over, III: Unconditional is undoubtedly a benchmark for Early Black and their musical endeavor.

Tracklist:

1.Self Critical Acclaim
2.(I Wish) Only Plagues
3.Annie Tastes Eternity 
4.I Feel That Something Important Is Happening Around Me…
5.Drain
6.Jasmines
7.Lack / Love 
8….And It Scares Me

Line-up:

Wil Collins
Sam
Freddie
Rory

Rate: 10/10