Damn, it's been six years since their "Happiness Without Peace" full-length dropped, but the wait is over, because Subzero's back with a new lineup and a slightly new sound that's a lot more aggressive than most of their past work, though still retaining a good sense of melody and a wide range of influences. The vocals are all over the place from vicious shouts or screams to various degrees of singing, and the music blends groovier, more modern sounding rhythms with the classic, heavy NYHC sound, among other things. "Dirty Needles" mixes up some crushing rhythms with lots of dissonant guitar layering and oddly melodic playing, not to mention eerie singing vocals and a generally dark atmosphere befitting of the song's subject matter (drug abuse). Meanwhile, "Swineherd" is faster and more overtly melodic, definitely bringing in an obvious punk influence that hearkens back to some of the band's older material. It's all here. The production is pretty good. I wish it was a little brighter, as the vocals rest slightly out in front of the music because they're recorded with a slight bit more clarity, but it sounds damn good. The drums are fairly natural, the bass tone rules, the guitars are nice and thick, etc. I'd make a few minor changes, but nothing worth mentioning, as this definitely has a stronger sound than their last record did. The only minor gripe I have with the layout is that a lot of it is slightly pixilated or a tad blurry in some strange manner. The front cover illustration looks great, not to mention crisp, but everything else has a slightly rougher edge to the print quality, and some of the lyrics/liner notes can be hard on the eyes as a result. I wish they had printed the band icon larger inside the booklet as well because it's a slick design. No big deal, though. The lyrics generally deal with pretty bleak topics, though some are more positive and deal with conviction and perseverance, but the general tone is definitely pretty fucking aggressive. "Deadly hybrids begin to breed, Radiation sleeps in the air we breathe, Grotesque human mutation, The final war has just begun, Militant armies of different creed fight for superiority, Jesus is no longer with us, In this city, this city filled with hate..." This is a great EP, definitely making me anticipate their forthcoming "Black Snow" full-length. It's been too long... it's great to see Subzero back in action.
[Stillborn]
Running time - 24:05, Tracks: 7
[Notable tracks: Dirty Needles, Swineherd, Boxed in Reanimated]
Stillborn Records - http://www.stillbornrecords.com
