DRIFTING AWAY

I've been waiting for this record for the better part of four years now. An initial track, "Extinction"  from Shin To Shin first surfaced around that long ago on an A389 Records online sampler. Then later that year it ended up on the bands split 7" with Pulling Teeth. And now it sees another release on the bands debut s/t MLP pressed by A389. Since 2010, word would surface every 12 months or so of the impending release of this record and then nothing would happen. Well near the end of last year an official release was mentioned, and finally it has materialised in the last few weeks. It's been a topic on many blogs over the last few years, but for those who don't know, this is the sole work of Aaron Melnick, writing genius behind early Integrity, and far as I can tell he handles all duties except for drums, which are sorted by a guy named Bob. Fans of Melnick's previous efforts should find plenty of interest here. It's basically 90's style metallic hardcore with a slight Japanese feel, that can be attributed mostly to his uniquely burly vocal style and the reverb it's put under on a few of the tracks. Whether that was intentional or not may be debatable, but it's definitely something I hear. Every track is a lesson in well written, catchy stomping hardcore. I already knew this before I even heard any of the other tracks, but this will certainly be on of my absolute favourite records of 2014.