"Hear Me. I'm Calling Out." - Burn.

Briefly:

Revelation 22, the BURN EP, contains the heaviest New York hardcore song ever recorded. We received a CD copy to replace our cassette dub this morning. We literally trembled with anticipation as we cued it up to track three, "Drown." The song is amazing, with singular singer Chaka in full-on aggro mode. We don't remember the vocals being mixed so high, but with headphones on the guitars come into proper perspective. The real mystery of the release is why "Drown" isn't sequenced first, although the song no longer seems head and shoulders above the rest of the EP, as it did when we turned on to it in '92 or so.

Another striking thing: heard in context, the music on this EP seems almost disappointingly similar to the stuff on Judge's Bringing It Down [Revelation 15]. Just listen to the beginning of "Drown" and the beginning of Judge's "The Storm" if you don't beleive it. Of course, the bands were both working the New York hardcore scene at the same time, and Don Fury produced the sessions for each recording. So the instruments even sound the same. Still, Burn's willingness to dial back the metal in the breakdown of "Godhead," for example; to explore more complex emotional and even spiritual material; and Chaka's commanding voice all make this EP substantially smarter than the tough-guy rock on Judge's record.

In related news, the Judge discography What It Meant streets on the 21st [scroll down] of this month. We pre-ordered ours and look forward to its arrival. At the same link you will see that there is now a date attached to the BOLD discography The Search 1985-1989: July 12. We'll probably end up pre-ordering that one, but we'll try to stave off the urge to consume a little while longer. For now, why not enjoy some rock?

Burn - "Drown."

That is all.