Born Low
Reincarnage
Label – Reaper Records
Release date – Out Now

As some of you have begun to notice, my Scraping Genius Off The Wheel column has evolved somewhat, with an increased focus on hardcore. The rationale behind this change is twofold. Firstly, while the inimitable MetalSucks staff cover a fair range of heavy music subgenres, there is a general dearth of coverage of hardcore, save for certain breakout artists like Converge and Coalesce. Secondly, several of my favorite albums of 2009 are classifiable as either hardcore or post-hardcore, or otherwise influenced by those sounds. So, yes, in addition to my continued devotional noise rock ravings and totally serious Oceano coverage, expect to read a lot about hardcore from me in 2010, including music from formidable newcomers like Born Low.

After a buzzworthy 2008 demo (which you can and should download here for free), the Albany, New York band dropped its debut Reincarnage on Reaper Records just the other day. This in-and-of-itself is an impressive feat, as the label is home to some of the most vibrant acts in the modern hardcore scene, including Maximum Penalty and rising stars Trapped Under Ice. The eight tracks featured on the record (buy it on CD) are straight-up, no-nonsense contemporary NYHC. With a double-guitar assault and rampageous rhythm section, this quintet takes its cues from metallic hardcore heavies like (recent) Madball and Agnostic Front, as well as Terror. Now while that itself is nothing all that new, Born Low possess an unexpected level of songwriting faculty as well as the vitality you’d anticipate from a new band. That combination makes for an exceptionally solid debut, bolstered by fine production from Dean Baltulonis. Fast and furious cuts like “No Wake” will rally the hardcore dancers, and even when the tempo does drop on “Tired Horse,” it’s only to let the pit dwellers catch their breath for a moment.

You can listen to “This Prison” and “Abuse Reuse,” both from Reincarnage, at Born Low’s MySpace page.

-GS

[Gary Suarez usually manages the consistently off-topic No Yoko No. Say, why don't you follow him on Twitter?]