This Routine Is Hell
Repent. Repeat.

THE REVIEW

This Routine is Hell is one of those bands that today's international punk and hardcore scene truly and desperately needs.

Whether you love it or hate it, punk rock was born with the idea of doing something different from the usual broth, drawing inspiration from the rougher elements of beat and rock and roll (now fallen by the wayside) and becoming the perfect antithesis of the progressive craze of the 70s and ever-blander chart-toppers. However, it took too little time for the genre to sell out and become a pathetic imitation of itself, excluding a handful of bands (Black Flag, Minor Threat, Adolescents…) that redefined the genre at the dawn of the next decade, accentuating its features and making it "hardcore".

This Routine is Hell has more in common with the freshness of this first wave of bands than with the recycled bland formulas in which punk/hardcore is drowning.

The group has put together an EP, "Repent. Repeat", made up of a few relatively short songs, extremely rough and abrasive, with a tendency to make the mix very dynamic thanks to sudden changes in tempo and mood.
The songs are supported by a very solid rhythm section, and adorned with chords that are sometimes dissonant, sometimes hinting at more melodic influences, while the vocals are raw, "ignorant", and shouted.

Everything closely resembles "CVA" by Paint it Black, but This Routine is Hell has experimented much more in alternative directions, especially towards the end of this EP, slowing down the tones and letting the guitars roar a bit less.

This is a hardcore record "as it should be done": uncompromising songs, intelligent and ever-evolving structures, passion and conviction that shine through every pore of the band's performance, captured in the studio without too many frills and unnecessary decorations, hinting at the live potential of this Dutch band.

Listen to it here (also available for free download).