This is the most fun you’ll have listening to a hardcore record this year. Here New Jersey’s Old Wounds have crafted a metalcore wallop that succeeds at being catchy and furious without being uber serious, keeping the listener invested in “From Where We Came is Where We’ll Rest.”
Old Wounds have released their music piece-by-piece over the years in the form of a handful of highly rewarding releases, among them “Terror Eyes,” “Sleeper,” “Old Wounds,” and “II.” Each release showcased the sheer ambition of Old Wounds, including a penchant for familiarity fused with unconventionality. This formula takes the trappings of its genre, the mood, spirit and tone, flairs it up and showcases it with blistering triumph and deft aggression.
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“From Where We Came is Where We’ll Rest” is a culmination. Old Wounds have presented us with a work that exceeds the expectations set forth by its small but wholesome predecessors. Rerecorded for this full-length are “Hellbent” and “Born to Mourn” from their self-titled along with “Deviant Minds” and “Bleak” from “II,” all of which sound even better than before.
The remaining eight tracks comprise new material that have this band transcending any previous expectation. The sound is ever shifting, though not with overdone complexity or indistinguishable chaos, but with deep hooks and pummeling breakdowns. Erratic in sound, loud in emotion, the record is a refreshing take on a sometimes tired and repetitive genre. Riffs whine, moan and drone with a pissed-off fervor and concise attitude. The bass is a booming swell of down trodden, low swinging gut punches. Like a crashing storm the drums go for the throat of the songs, colliding between your ears at threatening speeds. The vocals are acrobatic, maneuvering between scream, growl and downright screech with urgency and maintained fury. A favorite track would be third-in-line “Bitter Days,” a high speed mosh monster with teeth red from hypocrisy.
“From Where We Came is Where We’ll Rest” is a battering ram and likely one of the most original hardcore records 2013 will have to offer. Cheers to what Old Wounds will have tear our throats out with next. Below is a preview of this great album, the smattering, sweeping “Disbelieve,” along with access to their prior material.
Be sure to catch Old Wounds on their full U.S. tour starting in March, the dates of which can be found here. “From Where We Came is Where We’ll Rest” can pre-ordered in several packages from Hellfish and will be available Feb. 26. Other cool merch can be found at their store.
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