Raleigh, North Carolina's Devour were born from the ashes of Cross Laws, but rather than simply picking up where that band left off, the remaining members expanded to a 5-piece and followed the long southern tradition of adding traces of metal into our hardcore. What emerged was a record that is remarkably dense and complex, recalling the very best of the mid-80s trend of hardcore bands "going metal;" think Corrosion of Conformity's Animosity LP, Final Conflict's Ashes to Ashes and Septic Death's Need So Much Attention. There's also a heavy Japanese influence; people who have seen Devour live have compared them to Judgment, Lip Cream and Bastard, a connection only made clearer by this record's astonishingly heavy and powerful recording. In a scene where so many bands simply want to replicate something that has already happened, Devour sound remarkably fresh and progressive, and without losing a single thing you loved about hardcore in the first place. Sorry State Records #15
