Reviews

Nine has quite a few things going for them.They have art by Jacob Bannon, a badass record title, they’re on Deathwish Inc. (one of the best labels in hardcore), and they’re from Sweden. On the minus side, their name is Nine and that’s just kind of weird.  aybe they’re like Thursday who wanted a nondescript name that wouldn’t overshadow the music. Or maybe they love the number nine. Luckily the mid tempo beats overlaid with thick guitar chords and a throaty vocalist with great backup vox make up for any name-weirdness.
 
Killing Angels’ first three tracks rank up there with the best three tracks of any release in a while.Inferno has that great refrain, “If this is heaven no angels sing” which, in addition to being tough as shit, is also remarkably catchy. Euthanasia starts out on a heavy guitar whine as Johan the vocalist asks, “Are you down? So down?” The third point of the trifecta Watching The Train Go By as just an amazing song. Great imagery backed with a haunting yet heavy sound and the key phrase, “Another train, another train passing.” The rest of the record doesn’t fail to live up to the bar set by these three, but the opening trio just stands out for their proximity as well as their dirty catchiness. 
 
For all their minimalist heaviness, Nine doesn’t sound like any of their contemporaries. Johan has a very distinct voice, that even screaming is identifiable. The guitars are slow and ride the groove pretty hard, but are not generic. The slow and rock solid beats firmly anchor Nine’s sound, never letting it slip anywhere out of control. Nine doesn’t sound like anyone else, but they do manage to sound simply... hardcore. When I want to listen to some HxC, but don’t know exactly what, I’ve been reaching for Killing Angels and finding it to be exactly what I wanted. And the art... J.Bannon outdoes himself with his painted rendering of what the Converge LP Unloved And Weeded Out’s cover would look like if that angel was left in an acid bath for a few days.This is great hardcore; intelligent, fresh, exciting, and from Europe!