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Momentum

Herbivore

Written by: PP on 13/08/2013 21:36:44

Momentum, who are not to be confused with the Danish heavy metal band with the same name, are a relentless, uncompromising hardcore punk band from London, UK. Their entire existence revolves around veganism as the title of their sophomore album "Herbivore" might suggest, where they spend eight songs spread over 15 minutes mercilessly dissecting the supposedly bad moral of carnivore and the horrific mistreatment of animals by the meat industry. As song titles like "Realities of The Dairy Industry", "Meat Is Murder", "Speciesism", "I Am Not A Living Grave" also suggest, we're dealing with a fundamentalist, if not outright extremist take on veganism, which would be a bit too much if it wasn't for the fact that these guys can fucking shred and write great songs in the process.

Quite simply, "Herbivore" might be one of the craziest, most uncompromising hardcore punk records you'll hear this year. It's d-beat style with plenty of crusty darkness thrown in for good measure, but not without ridiculously catchy riffs and screamed vocal passages as is the case with album highlight "I Am Not A Living Grave". Despite sounding as raw as it does, or perhaps precisely because of the urgency and immediacy that this sort of lo-fi production and breakneck tempo brings, both its chorus and the melodic hardcore style lead riff mean this song isn't going to leave your memory any time soon. "Speciesism" is similarly catchy, almost surprisingly so given how brutal the track otherwise is. I mean, it sounds like you're being ironed against a cheese grater with an enjoyable lead melody to top it off.

Descriptions like 'tearing', 'brooding', and 'unforgiving' come to mind when listening to this record, but so do 'melodic' and 'catchy'. Basically, Momentum have managed a near-perfect balance between brutality and melody on "Herbivore". Don't miss out, hardcore fans.

Download: I Am Not A Living Grave, Speciesism
For the fans of: Early Graves, Trap Them, Converge, Cursed, The Secret
Listen: Facebook

Release date 05.03.2013
Halo Of Flies