“spitfire”
Spitfire
The Dead Next Door
Solid State
Maybe it’s these violent times of ours, but it appears that both poles of extreme metal and hardcore are finally balancing out. On one pole you have the Satanic minions of black metal bands, dead-set on raping and pillaging the holy masses; on the other, an uber-violent strain of Christian hardcore, equally threatening and fire breathingly intent on counteracting such an action.
One example of the latter that’s as sonically evil as the former is Spitfire, perhaps the god-fearing (however different a sense) alternative to such heavyweights as Converge, Today is the Day, and Coalesce. Religious beliefs aside, Spitfire’s debut, The Dead Next Door , is the sound of pure, fuckin’ Armageddon.
Chaotic to say the least, Spitfire’s metallic gurgle is of a busier cut than its evil-core contemporaries, all three sonic arsonists flailing in tense counterpoint to each other, thus making the moments when they do gel that much more ignited, those erratic bursts that much more unhinged – tightness is the order of the day, however. From time to time, melody manages to bubble up from Spitfire’s cauldron (“All Indentured Loveables,” “A Glance at Quintessence”) but scarcely quenches the band’s fire. Hell (oops), the band even throws blastbeats into said cauldron – not the most popular of moves, but feverish nonetheless.
That said, let’s pray Spitfire’s embers continue to glow bright.
Solid State Records, P.O. Box 12698, Seattle, WA 98111-4698; http://www.solidstaterecords.com
