Kent quartet Atlantic Hearts opens this four track recording like they mean it. ‘Intro’ is a one minute scurry of brutal hardcore with vocals more evocative of Brazilian metal legend Max Cavalera than the current crop of hXc heroes. It’s actually an encouraging introduction in its brevity and sets up a release that is book ended by quality. Closer ‘Just When You Thought You Were Safe…’ is arguably the standout track proving to be a little more experimental and intricate. At 3:36 minutes long it’s an absolute behemoth in the hardcore world, divvying up punishing vocals with torrid guitar licks only to throw in the odd quieter, more thought out moment. The variance of this track makes it feel much more succinct than it actually is.
The two tracks in between prove to be slightly less impressive. ‘The Sound of Desperation’ and ‘Choking On Your Greed’ both weigh in at around two and a half minutes but seem overlong for it. Where successful the hardcore and screamo scenes are built on short, sharp stabs of fury which, whilst showing up earlier on this demo, just isn’t apparent in these two tracks. I don’t want to say it’s hardcore by the numbers (it’s not), but there’s just not quite enough diversity to pull these out from an already crowded pack. Still, that’s what demos are for, ironing out the early ideas and finding a sound that works.
For fans of Lower Than Atlantis, Gallows, Your Demise (or anyone else out of the Hertfordshire hXc scene really), this is a bruisingly rough-and-ready nine minutes that hints at something a little deeper. The potential is there, it’s now up to Atlantic Hearts to deliver on it.
Alex