Desolate
Obscurity of the Fallen
6.7
Hard hitting, no frills hardcore out of NYC with a complete disregard for the weak and feeble minded is the next assignment sitting on my desk at the current moment. Desolate doesn’t fuck around and they get straight to the point right out of the gate on this five song dish of anger driven intensity. The formula is simple: monstrous riffage backed up by a hard hitting rhythm section with some of the most pissed off vocals I’ve heard in, well…months I guess. With all five songs following this basic blueprint yet having distinction from one to the next, pure chaos begins on this nostalgic path through hardcore hell with a purely stripped clean basic riff that’ll get the head bobbing back and forth until the welcoming soreness ensues. Then comes the necessary yet fitting breakdown that puts all these modern day metalcore pretenders in their place. While the up and comers have a hard time getting past the first fret on their dropped down E strings, or even making it there period, Desolate breaks shit down in relenting fashion with integrity and grace by showing us it’s possible to actually move past that first fret and still play some effective pit inducing chunk that’ll have the karate kicking panty waste kidlets up in the balcony where they belong in no time. This is old school folks, and even though I’ve never been hardcore’s biggest fan nor will I probably ever be, the five songs on this EP are a refreshing escape from what I'm usually listening to. I’m not saying your collection won’t be complete without this in it nor am I trying to claim that this is something you need to be hearing. The fact of the matter is that this shit slays for what it is. The production is not the best but it fits the music and could be a hell of a lot worse. The songwriting is nowhere near complex and it doesn’t even need to be. Simplicity is the name of the game and most of the time it’s the simple things that move you more than some chaotic wankery filled pile of rubbish put together to show how well you can play. In the end that’s not what truly moves people; in the end Desolate’s Obscurity of the Fallen has moments that do just that. You motherfuckers out there in NYC who have seen these creatures of core live know what I’m talking about. From what I’ve read they put on a hell of a live show and if they come my way I’ll be there at the front of the stage with cocktail in hand and a neck brace waiting in the car for the ride home. This is a fun little 20 minute blast of anger and fury, and I’m curious to see where these guys go from here. Definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan of this musical flavor.
