Painted Wolves – s/t

My expectations for Painted Wolves self titled EP were high. Very high. With members of Anchor, Death is not glamorous, Dead vows I expect nothing but quality hardcore. In an interview Pim did with them recently they expressed the wish to bring something progressive into hardcore. Well, that makes one curious, doesn’t it? But, do they deliver?

I am still in doubt… This is high quality hardcore, no doubt about that. But I don’t know if I consider this to be very progressive. I am having a hard time comparing this to other bands, so I guess they did bring something new to the table (well, at least for me, that is).

But let’s take a look at the music, instead of talking about progressive hardcore. What we get here is hardcore with influences from different other genres. The Virgin Dance for example has a bit of a post-hardcore vibe to it. It also has a bit of a weird transition at 2:15 in the song. It doesn’t feel very natural. Other songs have a bit of a d-beat influence, like Sea Of Demons. In Oblivion we get a groove that should make Refused jealous. Two other songs that deserve mention are Those Eyes with a very cool bass line in it and Serve The Serpent with it’s atmospheric ending, guiding you to calmer grounds.

The production on this EP is top notch. Everything can be heard clearly, but it maintains a raw edge. Something that hardcore needs! The bass work is very appealing, not just on Those Eyes, but throughout the whole EP. One thing I’m not so keen of is the burly vocals that pop up here and there.

Their mission statement is “not being a copy”. If for one thing, they have succeeded in that! Give this diverse and excellently executed EP a spin! Yes, that’s an order!

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