Review Summary: to impress who?
Coming out of Philadelphia, Congenital Death is a hardcore band that is firmly rooted in the late 80s forms of thrashcore, a la
Siege and
D.R.I. (who CD cover faithfully). This demo consists of 8 short tracks of blasting riffs and raw vocals, embracing a DIY mood but presenting the style in such a way that only a band from 2012 playing 80s hardcore could.
Songwriting here is top notch, with the band employing stop-start tempos and alternating breaks - the way it's done reminds me a lot of the band
Punch, where the volatility of powerviolence is used in full force but the band never ends up sounding like a powerviolence band. All of the songs, despite their short length, are engaging in the fullest and warrant repeated listens.
There isn't much else left to say about Congenital Death's demo - it's remarkably well-written and well worth hearing for all fans of hardcore punk. Do yourself a favour and pick up a copy of the tape as soon as possible.
