Customer Reviews

Disrecordings

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For a severely underground band - which would be known by almost everyone, if you could label Engineer Records' fanbase as "almost everyone" - Nine Days To No One is a fine example of one side of the dichotomy, which has been forged within the world's modern hardcore scene.

On one hand, bands like Hatebreed can be observed, pouring their entire musical history out at each show and on each album. It's clear that not much progress has been made on this side of the genre - however, this does not go to say that the music produced is not still of a high standard; only that it is formulaic, and can sound overly familiar after a fashion.

Nine Days To No One, however, could be said to belong to the school of thinking, which produced such artistic and progressive indie hardcore legends as Refused, Snapcase and Converge. The band's eclectic mixture of sonic blasts sounds as if it borrows liberally from the three, throwing in elements of pure, semi-grinding carnage, a-la Discordance Axis (this is most prevalent on Gala Contemplating).

The concise album comprises amazing percussion (by a jazz drummer, no less), dirty vocals (whose sound I would describe as a slightly deeper Jacob Bannon-esque growl-scream), awesome clean vocals, almost-subliminal harmonies (reminiscent of those found in later Mogwai songs), strong bass lines and a surging guitar sound, ranging from pristine to heavily distorted. It's topped by a specular ambience, which hangs above the music like a white halo over black water.

I'd recommend the introductory track, "Gala Contemplating", as the best listen for music fans new to the band. However, every track, no matter how seemingly simple, has its own hidden depths, as the album provides something for just about any progressive hardcore taste. Thought-provoking, highly artistic lyrics and lyrical patterns form the tip of the iceberg, waiting to rip their way through your ears and into your head.

This is no sing-along experience. But if you like your hardcore rough, hard, fast, progressive, experimental and, above all, clever, then you will enjoy Nine Days To No One's "Disrecordings" EP.