Black Breath
Razor to Oblivion
Southern Lord 2009

The debut EP from Seattle Washington’s hardcore/metal crossover dreadnaughts, Black Breath, welds primitive metallic riffing with intense hardcore anthems like steel plates on a battle scarred tank.  The first of the EP’s four tracks is the title track which opens with Venom-esque heavy rock guitars before slamming into some fierce and dark rock influenced hardcore.  Nate’s vocals are throat scraping and intense screams that further link Black Breath to its hardcore punk foundations.  Up next is Fatal Error, a throbbing song featuring some barbaric Hellhammer rumblings and gritty punk brutality much like as if Tom G Warrior were in Discharge.  Beneatht the Crust steps up to the plate and bashes your face in with thrashy riffs and hardcore passion before breaking down into a muddy stomp that is one part Celtic Frost and one part Judge.  Finally a slowly boiling cauldron of pitch black Discharge mayhem mimics diabolical death metal grooves as it excruciatingly disembowels you with morbidly obscure guitars and angry yet somehow anguished vocals.  If you like thrashed out metallic crossover punk that eviscerates the listener through rusty, shredding riffage and fiery hardcore vocals, Black Breath will obliterate your eardrums in the best possible way.  When their debut album is finally unleashed it is going to be all out devastation.