BLACK SHIPS - OMENS; FIGHT AMPUTATION/EXOSUS SPLIT; COALESCE- GIVE THEM ROPE

So it's almost the end of finals week here at Bard College. I pulled an all-nighter last night to write a paper, and I have a few hours of studying for philosophy to look forward to later tonight. Anyway, I thought I'd share what I've been listening to this last week, except for Fucked Up, who are getting enough coverage that you can find just about everything elsewhere. Band pounds, though, no doubt.

BLACK SHIPS - OMENS

This band blew my mind the first time I went to their Myspace and listened to their tunes, around the time their first EP, Low, came out. The thing showed huge promise, so I kept tabs on them and waited for Omens. Daniel and I downloaded the thing around the same time, and I think we can both agree that this beast delivers the goods. Eight tracks of the loudest, heaviest, and most pissed-off hardcore I've ever heard. They don't speed it up or slow it down a whole lot because they don't fucking have to. "The End" is one of my favorite songs of 2008, and no track on Omens is a slouch. This record as a whole may be my favorite release of '08, and if not, it's a close second to Chemistry of Common Life. Throw this on, turn the volume up as high as it'll go (then see if you can find more speakers), grab a beer, and hate the world. This thing is important, seriously picking up Skitsystem's torch and running with it.

d/l
buy it, for fuck's sake


FIGHT AMPUTATION/EXOSUS - SPLIT

I may or may not look like a giant prick for using a Mediafire URL on a measly split, but suffice to say that this captures two of my favorite heavy bands at the top of their games. Fight Amp deliver a slower, heavier follow-up to Ugly Kids Doing Ugly Things without quite displaying the AmRep worship they do nowadays. Nobody ever seems as stoked on Exosus (r.i.p.) as I am, but their two tracks here, their last recordings as a band, absolutely slay. The grind influences of their last 7", Feed the Furnace, are gone entirely here, replaced by a downtuned take on the Swedish sound. This suits them fine, making this a great testament to a great band.

d/l
buy


COALESCE - GIVE THEM ROPE

HAY GUYZ
I HEARD TEH GUY FROM REGGIE AND DA FULL EFFECT AND NEW FOUND GLORY OR SOME SHIT WAS IN THIS BAND ONCE SO I DOWNLOADED THIS AND IT WASNT CATCHY AT ALL AND JUST HAD A GUY YELLING AND STUFF. WTF.

d/l
buy