Bastions
The UK is known for pumping out a new hardcore band every other week, but few manage to get the attention of small record labels in Pittsburgh PA and a small town college reviewer. However of these many hardcore bands that can be found in pubs all over the UK, Bastions managed to stick out with their latest EP Kingdom of Dogs.
Kingdom of Dogs will kick your ass, there is no polite way to put it, there is no avoiding it, just accept it and enjoy. I say it so bluntly because that is the best way to describe how fast and mind boggling this EP is. It starts off with the song, Crooked Hands, which does not hesitate to punch a hole in your face with a fast riff, loud vocals and a quick yet steady thrash beat. The band isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel, just make it move a little faster and able to run over things without the risk of breaking down.
Kingdom of Dogs sounds like the members of Every Time I Die, Impending Doom and Cancer Bats, got together to make an album of fast punk, slower hardcore without generic breakdowns or two-step riffs and the eerie minor notes being played over a break down (listen to Matriarch to hear these eerie undertones). The EP not only makes you go crazy but scares the hell out of you if you happen to pick –up on the eeriness of it all.
The album demonstrates that a hardcore band can be more than breakdowns and actually show some musicianship with interesting timings and riffs that aren’t typically heard in modern hardcore. For an EP, this is probably one of the best releases that I’ve heard this year and look forward to hearing even more of Bastions in the future.
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