In At the Deep End Records, don’t you just love ‘em? Come rain or shine, they continue to put out quality looking releases by quality UK bands, regardless of their sound or ‘scene’ standing. The IATDE roster is as varied as a big box of Quality Street, and I for one love it that way. The problem with buying a big box of Quality Street is that you’re likely to find one or two of the vibrantly coloured packaged sweets are just not to your taste. I for one despise those damn toffee fingers, and anything with a big bloody nut in the middle and nothing else can fuck right off as well. I guess November Coming Fire kind of rank up there with the coffee creams. You know, I like them, but I’d only really eat them after some inconsiderate family member had munched their way through the Strawberry and Orange ones!
November Coming Fire play a particularly violent blend of hardcore that encompasses everything from Samhain (Where they take their name from), to Botch and beyond. Making their name in the semi-legendary Canterbury hardcore scene and progressing to big support slots with the likes of Converge, amongst others, NCF have certainly put the hours in. At times, the music on ‘Black Ballads’ is wonderfully chaotic and manages to really hit the spot. ‘Blackest Blood’ in particular is a fantastically brutal and doom-laden hardcore onslaught, and is sure to completely tear apart any venue that NCF grace with their presence, but it’s not all up to this stupidly high quality. ‘Loves Young Nightmare’ is just kind of missing something, I’m not sure what, from it’s aural onslaught, while ‘The Boys With Nails…’ fails to capitalise on the fist pumping, finger pointing screamathon that is opener ‘Transgression’.
‘Near Death’ takes the bull by the horns and gives it a good fucking kicking, while even ‘Instrumental 1′, with it’s subdued yet perfectly fitting beginning, feels like it could suck the life out of you with it’s hulking riffs. In fact, you know what, forget what I said at the start, the more I listen to this release the better it gets. You can forget any ideas of me deleting this review and starting again, but as ‘Black Ballads’ pulses from my computer speakers, I’m beginning to warm to the ‘Fire (pun possibly intended). While I still wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to it on a lazy Sunday afternoon, I can imagine it being a perfect accompaniment to any strenuous bus journey (ha) on my Mini disc or a great way to drown out the hordes of people walking through Sheffield City Centre on my travels.
‘Black Ballads’, as well as coming in a wonderfully sleek package (You know the last Alkaline Trio album, Good Mourning? You know how the inlay booklet was printed on almost rubberised material? You know how, for some strange reason, it had a wonderful feel and smell to it? Well, you’ve got the same kind of stuff here) and being put out by a fantastically consistent label, is also a riot to listen to. It won’t win any awards, but I’m feeling a strange compulsion to go and see these guys live and rock out to their frenzied hardcore sound. If that sounds like fun to you, then I suggest you give ‘Black Ballads’ a chance.
Ross
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