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We Are Dust

We Are Dust

Written by: MAK on 16/07/2015 22:10:29

When a band describes themselves as hardcore and punk, it does come as a bit of surprise when what you hear sounds at first more like demo quality metalcore. German outfit We Are Dust’s self-titled debut release bears atmospheric similarities to the Aussie metalcore legends Parkway Drive’s earliest release "Don’t Close My Eyes". The poor quality in production is the first noticeable feature, but the same raw energy, aggression and desire to create heavy music to rock the hell out of crowds exists on "We Are Dust" that I sensed on "Don’t Close Your Eyes".

Apart from incredibly aggressive and heavily under-produced gravelly roars and ghastly screams, the two bands don’t really sound alike. The Aachen lads are a lot simpler technically, not a lot of fiddly technical guitars, but a hell of a lot of highly distorted chords and bruising riffs that are mostly heavier than your average hardcore band, all played over fast simple beats.

The best thing that can be said about the 18-minute release is that it is far from one dimensional in styles and influences. Opener track "Egg Shaped Cubicles" shows a dominant sense of 90's sounding metalcore that resembles the likes of Poison The Well, which influenced a lot of the modern hardcore bands like Reign Supreme. Follow up track "War On A Backseat Of A Caravan" reveals the punk side they mentioned, mostly in the almost chirpy sounding riffs at the beginning, but when the vocals kick in and change the mood, they take the song in a darker direction with more tenacious harsh vocals and deeper chuggy guitars in the background. It’s hard to tell at this point if "We Are Dust" are still trying to find the sound that distinguishes them.

Elsewhere there are influences of hard rock style riffs, some small twinges of Every Time I Die crossed with Stray From The Path-esque whiny guitars, and some catchy clean singing in the last track "Bis Das Mosaik Zerfällt" that seems to come out of nowhere. While they work on this song, they don’t seem to fit with the rest of the release in particular.

After several listens, it’s easier to understand why We Are Dust have described themselves as hardcore and punk, and at times the best band to match them with is Siberian Meat Grinder. Both acts take influences from both genres to create a sound that is relentlessly heavy and fun at the same time, providing occasional chants to sing along to, but in all sense creating pure shit kickers for crowds to go nuts with. We Are Dust are definitely the most vicious sounding of the two, while Siberian Meat Grinder are more the party boys of hardcore and punk, continuing pretty much where Rotting Out left off.

"We Are Dust" as a release is a grower, it took a lot of dissecting to figure out what I liked about it other than the initial atmosphere. If you can get past the fact that the production is far from perfect and take the music for its pure quality of delivery and energy, then this eight track EP works great as an introduction to the band. Here’s to hoping that any potential next release from the Germans sounds a tad more professional.

Download: Egg Shaped Cubicles, Drehbuch Mensch, I'm Blasphemy
For The Fans Of: Siberian Meat Grinder, Reign Supreme, very early Parkway Drive, Poison The Well
Listen: facebook.com

Release date 03.05.2015
Self Released