Pincer+Hunting God Tapes, Vol 2: Romance

If this is Romance then Violence (their first volume) must have been brutal beyond the bloodsoaked dreams of Vlad the Impaler.

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Pincer+ are Perth’s latest Asking Alexandria killer (if you know, you know) hurling a fistful of venom and spite through airwaves and terrorising eardrums.

The adjective “abrasive” has been abused by scribes of my ilk since Lester Bangs said Black Sabbath was only fit for neanderthals (again, if you know, you know) but god damn is this like applying 100 grit sandpaper to the nether regions and loving every second of it. Well, for the most part.

Disregarding the last track, this latest slab of “apocalypse core” is as bleak and desolate as the concept of human damage itself.

Heart of Glass is so far removed from the Blondie namesake it may as well have popped in from an alternate Hell dimension. Overlapped, searing hot guitars fuzzed up just below the threshold of pain propel screams of betrayal and anguish, casting an dark spell over all who listen. Closer To God reveals a deity whose only mission is to inflict misery, encapsulated by its terrifying, head-crushing stomp. They care little for your mama’s deathcore: quarter-time breakdowns are dropped from the first few seconds of Visions of Angels, all forboding and little saving grace.

Though most of the EP churns through nihilistic guitars, grinding down the listener (Self Recieved Halo) and played to breaking point, finisher Stuck In The Ceiling is a jarring finish. It’s a pure hip-hop track featuring Apex Afi, built on electronic beats and zero of the actual band. It’s such a departure it makes one wonder why it was included at all. Disregarding the last track, this latest slab of “apocalypse core” is as bleak and desolate as the concept of human damage itself. If that tantalises your seratonin-depleted brain, then cry havoc and let the God hunting begin.

STANDOUT TRACKS: Heart of Glass, Closer To God, Visions of Angels
STICK THIS NEXT TO: King Yosef, Lotus Eater, Alpha Wolf