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I’m tired of livin’ life this way, crime pays, but for how long…?

Here we have a re-release of the 2004 debut full-length from Chicago's own The Killer, "Better Judged by Twelve Than Carried by Six", on Organized Crime Records, this time with four new tracks and a bonus live DVD recorded earlier this year. I'm not at all a fan of live DVD's, to be totally honest with you, but the prospect of four new tracks from The Killer suits me just fine, as I've been a big fan of these cats ever since I first caught them opening for Integrity on the "To Die For" tour. If you've never been exposed to this band before, expect good ol' fashioned metallic hardcore the way it ought to be: Gruff vocals, burly power chords, a balance of chugging mosh and note-based metal riffing, generally midpaced tempos with just enough variation to keep things moving, and forceful songwriting with a bitter lyrical perspective. The new tracks have a slightly rawer recording that needs a little cleaning up in terms of the guitar tone, but from a writing perspective the material's consistent with the original nine tracks from the full-length... aside from the band's take on Twisted Sister's "Burn in Hell", of course—granted they do slow it down and sludge it up pretty well!

The Killer "Tell My Mom I Love Her"
The Killer "Darker"

Pick it up if you're down. At the moment it's only $10 straight from the label, bonuses and all:

Organized Crime Records
RevHQ

Also new from Organized Crime Records is the debut EP from Regret (Minneapolis), titled "Misery Brigade". I wasn't familiar with this band prior to hearing these six tracks, but this 16-minute affair damn sure leaves me hungry for more. They're basically offering up a concise and powerful attack of fierce metallic hardcore with loads of dissonant melody, which in turn gives their songwriting a really memorable and energetic sensibility that totally grabs me. It's not exactly original, there are a number of bands with a comparable approach out there, but the recording is nice and balanced and the songs are straight up quality all around, so I'm way the fuck into this disc. They just do it right, what can I say? The vocals are pretty damn ferocious, the riffs kick ass, the material covers a good range of tempos and atmospheres that keep things interesting... I don't know what else to say. I can't fucking wait to hear a full-length from these dudes. Great, great work.

Regret "We're All Desperate"

This one's not officially out just yet, but the label should be taking pre-orders soon, and this one's extremely recommended, so keep checking their website for availability!

Comments

  1. that new killer song is pretty much a good enough reason to pick up that re-release…go bears

    8.3.2006 | By phil d

  2. That song from Regret is just flat out amazing, reminds me of the Fixation Deadguy cannot wait to make this purchase…

    8.3.2006 | By Anonymous

  3. The Regret song is good…but reminds me so much of Cursed.  Especially in the vocals.  Similar tone and phrasing.  But rocking nevertheless.

    8.3.2006 | By Anonymous

  4. Fucking fantastic band - the entire MCD is good the entire way through.

    8.18.2006 | By Drew