"After a blazing debut demo tape last year, TORMENTED IMP claw themselves onto the vinyl format in style. Like most of their Leeds colleagues, TIMP, as they are affectionately known, choose the 7" - the ultimate Hardcore Punk format. Contained within it's grotesque grooves are four tracks of their patented POISON IDEA meets DEATH SIDE style, upping the ante on the heavy undertones. Putting Armley on the map, one aural assault at a time. Türbocharged, psycho-nutter music for like-minded individuals exclusively. On this slab of savagery, TORMENTED IMP cement the fact once and for all that Leeds has the best Hardcore/Punk scene in the United Kingdom, bar none." - Bobby Cole Our take: Donor Records brings us the debut 7” from this standout band from the hardcore hotbed of Leeds, UK. This release made some noise on my social media feed when it was released digitally back in November, but it’s taken a few weeks for the vinyl to make its way across the pond, and of course it’s expensive as fuck thanks to the one-two combo of the US dollar’s plummeting value and Trump’s new tariff policies. Eat shit, you orange fuck. Anyway, let’s focus on the positive, i.e. how much this 7” slays. Tormented Imp strikes me as a band with virtuosic skill, but rather than wowing you with complexity, they use their talent to pummel you as effectively as possible. As soon as the needle drops on this EP, I get strong Poison Idea vibes, particularly the Feel the Darkness era. Tormented Imp’s execution is airtight, edging against the mechanical, but still sounding human… or maybe superhuman. The drumming is nuts, with a slightly rigid groove and a steadiness that seems impossible given the blistering tempos… fans of Bastard will dig it for sure. The guitarist is the other standout musician here, crafting interesting, hooky riffs and lead runs in a broad range of styles, from Burning Spirits-inspired epic to high-speed rock gymnastics a la Skitkids. The songs’ arrangements are dense, filled with quirky but seamlessly executed transitions, and hardly ever repeating parts, unless a riff is so catchy you really want to hear it more than once. The density is such that it might take a listen or two for your ear to make sense of it, but once you wrap your brain around the complexity, it’s really a beautiful thing to behold. While these four songs have all the brutality you want from dumb hardcore, they’re executed on such a high level that you’ll be unwinding them and noticing interesting bits after many listens. It sucks that we have to charge $15 USD for a 7”, but it stings less when it’s this good.
