Endwell - Punishment

Endwell

Punishment

 

Steroids are powerful things. Without them, most New York hardcore bands probably wouldn’t sound like a group of raging pitbulls fighting over scraps of meat in the alley behind a butcher shop. But let’s be careful here: We aren’t implying that Queens, New York’s Endwell indulge in illegal drugs (and/or meat consumption). In fact, we’re surprised their band name doesn’t have Xs on either side of it. But their music sounds as juiced up as you can imagine.

There are two sides to this pure, healthy group of strapping meatheads (who now feature members of This Is Hell and Deez Nuts). There’s the tough-guy, Biohazard-like side, which kicks us in the teeth with their streetwise riffs, Madball-esque gang shouts and quasi-raps. And then there is the flipside, the forays into metal riffing and evil-sounding breakdowns (basically, the ’90s straight-edge hardcore sound revamped for current-day evilness).

It’s pretty clear that Punishment is aptly named. But is it good? Hell yes, it’s good. Is it anything that hasn’t been done a gazillion times before by much more adept bands (Hatebreed, Earth Crisis, et al)? Well, no. Does that stop us from swinging our arms like gorillas and getting sweaty with the bros in the pit while tracks such as “Black Horns” and “Negative Pressure” pound away at our innards? Hell no. So, all’s well that, uh, Endwell?

Mediaskare http://www.mediaskarerecords.com

“High Friends In Low Places”