The Lords
Swords

Listening to the Lords is like getting hit in the face with a brick, getting back up, and asking for more. "Swords" is the debut of these shady guys from Louisville, Kentucky. And in less than 20 minutes, it sweeps away all the current clutter in hardcore punk. It's like the black banner of Black Flag has returned to reign, reincarnated for a new battle, a violent and necessary cleanup. Incredible. Lords are a perfect grind between the punk rock of the SST era and the paranoid obsession of metal ("Snake It" is thrash declined in the present tense). If that doesn't scare you, I swear, it's something very close to how Black Flag would sound today.

That is, a searing, twisted, battered, ultrasaturated rock'n'roll pushed to the limit (what else is "Lift High The Mighty Throne"?). Vitriolic garage ("The Crawl") mixed with hysterical and convulsive punk ("Two Lies" that ends like Rise Above). All seasoned with a stranglehold voice, flecked with almost melodic sobs that make the tracks all the more captivating. Thirteen insane sonic shards. A record that stutters with rage and finally spits it out. A raving and fierce assault of frequencies, frightening melodic passages, and electrifying bursts. Granitic, magnificent Lords, unstoppable even when they seem to be strumming chords just to play with free-form experimentation. There are a ton of hardcore groups, too many and all carbon copies. "Swords" is much more than a random pick, choose it. Choose the Lords. I guarantee it. And if I'm wrong, I'll buy drinks for everyone.