First up, Internal Affairs cranks out three tracks of old school hardcore with somewhat high-pitched yelling vocals and a good amount of pissed off speed. Of course there are some classically formulated breakdowns that slow things down just a touch and tend to bring the bass to the forefront, but for the most part these three songs are a little shorter and more in your face than much of what I've heard from the band in the past. "Loyalty Not Royalty" has a nice breakdown at the end, and "No Way Out" is a little more moderately paced sans one blasting riff, but "Enough" is all go, and this stuff is over in a flash. The recording comes off as a bit too noisy and makes it hard to really make out some of what's going on musically since there's a lot of midrange and treble swirling around in there, perhaps partly due to the vinyl, but... it gets the job done. Last Nerve (Australia) follows with three of their own, in a very similar style, but they've got a much clearer recording that definitely helps their side come across with a little more power. They're also not focused as much on intense speeds, so the midpaced chord progressions allow for a little more breathing room as well. I'd say that some of their rhythms are slightly heavier in general approach, but their guitar tone isn't overly heavy at all, so they don't bring in any metal influence at all. The breakdown in "Too Slow" is just fucking awesome as well - perfectly paced without jostling the flow, not too heavy or exaggerated... it's just right, and ends the track perfectly. The layout looks damn nice, with the sleeve printed in all green inks, opening from the center and allotting space for photos and lyrics for each band. Lyrically the material for each group is bitter and pulls no punches, from "Dead in the water I have zero luck. That's my life, you stupid fuck." to, "Sympathy you'll forever yearn. Waste away while I witness you fucking burn." Get the point? Admittedly I'm a big fan of Internal Affairs, but from both a writing and sound quality standpoint Last Nerve takes the cake on this particular split. I definitely think I need to start checking out more of what's going on in Australia's hardcore scene... This is a solid split. Damn short, but solid.
[Resist]
Running time - 9:00 (approximately), Tracks: 6
[Notable tracks: Loyalty Not Royalty, Sick to Death, Too Slow]
Resist Records - http://www.resistrecords.com
