Reviews

Restraint isn't something you see too much in hardcore these days. That's why when a band like Braindead comes out with a debut like No Consequences, you take notice. The full length debut features ten short bursts that serve to give listeners a brisk, twenty-three minute glimpse into what hardcore was, is, and can become.

My first exposure to Braindead was a benefit show with Paint It Black in New Jersey. I remember not particularly thinking too much of them at the time, but this album makes it seem like it was just an off night. If these guys can match even half of the intensity and passion they display on this record then you do not want to miss them live. Of the ten tracks on this album, not a single second feels non-essential. The album builds and builds until the final track when it reaches its climax and ends in all its destructive, fuzzed out glory.

The only fault that can be found with Braindead's full-length debut is that it may be too strong. I finished listening to this album and immediately began thinking, "Where can they go from here?" Of course that's the big question with any band when they release a fantastic album. How do you top one of the most essential hardcore albums in recent history? If they can best it on their next release, then we may be looking at the new kings of hardcore. If not, then No Consequences may just have been a fluke. Albeit, a beautifully passionate fluke.