No Dice-Kill The Shepherds EP review. FFO: Aggressive, crunchy hardcore aka Sheer Terror, Crown of Thornz, Judge, 100 Demons etc.

June 08, 2023

No Dice-Kill The Shepherds EP review. FFO: Aggressive, crunchy hardcore aka Sheer Terror, Crown of Thornz, Judge, 100 Demons etc.

Fuck me 1054 Records finds the gems when I first heard this I was utterly convinced that they had signed an old-school band from New York or even Cleveland. This first release is so angry and heavyweight in every possible way.

No Dice is a new five-piece band that sounds like every old-school tough hardcore band I have ever worshipped. The tone is raw as hell, gritty and energetic and all carried by a vocalist very reminiscent of Sheer Terror but equally Judge or 100 Demons. No Dice chugs along like a gorilla on the warpath perfectly with this five-track rager. The intro starts with an ambulance siren to draw you into the dark and raging release. Then No Dice, the track slides in with some super proficient bass and drum magic that definitely has a Biohazardish groove; which is deeply abrasive by the gripping vocals and scathing guitar work. This is their longest track and it flies by in no time; it also has some cool powerviolence techniques in the vein of the mighty Man is A Bastard style. That's damn impressive!.

The self-titled song is the middle point and high point of the release, here I felt the guitarists definitely showed off their robust chops with some clever riffs and damn sharp songwriting. I am unaware of the band's history, but the song craft and musicianship are too skilled to be the work of amateurs. Solid and raging stuff. Cool tempo mix on this and the vocals really soared on this track. Endless Cycle is again another raging track with a much more chaotic pace and the unrestrained nature of it was brilliant, the production is low-key in an almost down-tuned way, but that works for me as it sounds live as hell. This track even rocks out towards the end, love some guitar cheesy shit whilst being hectic and psychotic. Time Waster is the closing anthem and its rollicking drive was so addictive, like most tracks here the vox are very much in sync with the nastiness of the whole band; and this resonating, almost explosive atmosphere is refreshing as hell in a sea of copycat hardcore bands these days. Definitely big things for this band!!!. An utterly irate and masterful EP full of classic tracks!.