Destroy Everything,, Worship Nothing

Hellmouth's debut CD is that rare metalcore album with more to offer than mere "Hot Topic was sold out of that T-shirt I wanted!" rage. Musically, their songs run the gamut from the traditional breakdowns-n-screams morass to more classically metallic tracks like "Blackest of Voids," which offers almost Pantera-esque riffing and a rhythm you can bounce on the balls of your feet to, right before busting your best bro in the teeth with your elbow in the pit. "Dust" is similarly furious, in a much more punk rock way, borrowing the headlong fury of Disfear in a way that makes it thoroughly their own. Plus, it gets all pretty in the middle, with melodic guitar picking to set up the next dissonant, crashing assault riff. Destroy Everything, Worship Nothing has a lot of mean, hostile noise to it, putting it closer to the punk/noise side of the hardcore/metalcore spectrum (think bands like Converge or Early Graves) than the knuckle-dragging, hoodie-wearing side (think bands like Terror or Throwdown). Songs like "Drop Out and Destroy" and "Praying for Plague" update the underclass rage of Black Flag for a new generation of recession babies. This is an album whose fury will only come to seem more appropriate the worse times get. ~ Phil Freeman