AC4

Burn The World

Written by: PP on 27/11/2013 22:11:49

You might have noticed the name AC4 being frequently mentioned in hardcore circles in the past few years, and there are a couple of reasons for why that is. For starters, the band is fronted by Dennis Lyxzén of Refused fame, and helped out instrumentally by a number of people from the Umeå, Sweden hardcore scene. Secondly, the band is about as close of a connection you'll get back to the 80s hardcore scene sound wise. Gnarly, yelled vocals, breakneck speed d-beat drumming, fast riffs that rely on a quick three chord progression more often than not, and a roughened, unpolished production is what their sophomore album "Burn The World" is all about. Think towards bands like OFF!, 7 Seconds, Minor Threat, and such, rather than any modern incarnation of the hardcore genre.

Granted, there are moments where the band go for a slightly groovier approach, such as on album highlight "Diplomacy Is Dead", where the vocals are a tad catchier and the tempo slightly lower than on the pedal-to-the-floor style hardcore tracks that the record otherwise consists of. It's tracks like these that make AC4 an interesting listen; the classic 80s style hardcore tracks not so much. The latter falls to the category of done to death, and other than displaying tremendous energy and a knack for fairly authentic sounding riffs, there's not much on display here to convince the listener that he should pop on this record instead of one of the classics. It speaks to the credit of 80s hardcore though that even in 2013 the sound still feels relevant enough to avoid feeling dates, which is not something you can say about, for example, nu metal in 2013. In that sense "Burn The World" is a decent record, it's a depiction of the original hardcore energy, feeling, and soundscape as closely as any band will or can do it in today's globalised world.

Download: Diplomacy Is Dead, Breakout, I Won't Play Along
For the fans of: OFF!, G.B.H., 7 Seconds, Minor Threat, Black Flag
Listen: Facebook

Release date 22.03.2013
Deathwish Inc

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