ERUPT - LEFT TO ROT Vinyl 7"
Static Shock Records brings us the debut from this Australian hardcore-tinged thrash metal band / thrash metal-tinged hardcore band featuring members of heaps of other bands you already know and love. As Static Shock’s description notes, Erupt makes the lines between extreme punk and extreme metal very blurry. When I listen to Left to Rot, I keep thinking this record is like the perfect amalgamation of Voivod and Septic Death. Erupt reminds me of Voivod in the speed and technicality of their playing. Not just that the riffs are more complex, but that the playing and the arrangements are full of odd timings and twists and turns that only an extremely capable band could execute. Maybe one day Erupt will evolve into a prog band like Voivod has? They have the chops for it. The other standout element of Erupt’s sound is the menacing nightmare vibe, which is what reminds me of Septic Death. While the music is dense and the playing is accomplished, they compress the maximalisminto a fuzzy, 4-track style recording that seems like it’s bursting at the seams, straining to contain Erupt’s pummeling power. More than just raw, though, Erupt sounds scary… legitimately evil a la the first Bathory album. I’d recommend Left to Rot to any punk or metalhead who pursues the extreme in all its manifestations.