Stream or purchase ‘Impatient Pile of Bones’ HERE to put the review into perspective:
Upon waking up to an inbox containing BOTTOMFED‘s EP, ‘Impatient Pile of Bones‘, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Often there’s a description, or a “for fans of”, but not this time. I literally judged it by it’s cover and assumed I was about to violate my ears with the oh-so-familiar modern metal band spiel filled with mapped out triggered drums that were never once performed with levels not dropping a db below the clipping threshold.
Instead I was pleasantly taken back to a time of my life when I was always encountering new music that made me excited. Music that inspired me to go home and be creative with a sheer joy and appreciation for expressing however I felt in that time and moment with an instrument. Music didn’t have to be perfect, in fact it was the raw sound and flubs that made it real and those imperfections were soon to become favorite parts of albums that withstand time and are still enjoyed today.
Track 1 “Pavement” opens the EP with the plugging in of a guitar similar to the intro of Saves The Day‘s ‘Through Being Cool’ record. Within moments it sends you on your way through a journey of very different styles while somehow maintaining a unified genre of what I would label as hardcore. As the music progressed I envisioned old school basement shows. Not the kind of show where most the kids are outside smoking and a few were inside taking photos with their iphones, but the kind of basement shows where everyone in the neighborhood came out, crammed into a sweaty room, forgot about any issues anyone had with one another and just got into the music. A show where the only evidence of it even happening came from a tripod camcorder set up behind the drummer, battle scars and the stories to go along with those wounds.
The entire EP is laced with vocals all across the board from emo-hardcore screams remnant of Boy Sets Fire to piercingly high broken up shrieks which sounded like a crossbreed of Indecision (when Artie Phillie was on board) and Leftover Crack. Not going to lie, I’m not a fan of 80’s hair metal and at times sections of these tunes would incorporate similar vocal qualities, but lucky for me and only me, it was kept to a minimum.
The guitars are not incredibly intricate, but very tasteful. I found myself in a Coalesce-type trans from the intro guitars of “Chalkboard Symphony” which then moved to a Rage Against the Machine style of hitting everything as hard as possible in unison, and concluding with chugs and riffs that I could see coming straight out of a modern day Cave-In / Converge record.
Overall I’m very pleased that this EP is what set the mood for my day. It left me wanting to hear more from these guys and I will be sure to keep up with them on social media for when they have further releases. I suggest you do the same. Lastly, I peeped their music video (view below) assuming to see some mid 30 year old Madball looking dudes, but to my surprise found a fresh group of young lads. When and where did they pick up this style from? I just realized that they might have no clue as to any of my references. Much respect. Dig the noise!
Connect and support Bottomfed:
…and say “sup” to local friends From The Makers Of and Agree to Disagree
