Hailing from areas around the city of Philadelphia, Braindead have quickly become one of my favorite current hardcore bands. Formed only a few years ago, the band has already released a demo, a split 7" with Blackbirds, and this, their debut full-length, No Consequences.
Over the course of the ten-song twenty-three minute affair Braindead showcases a variety of influences within the world of hardcore as they infuse their songs with fast-paced hardcore in the vein of Turning Point and Count Me Out as well as the gracefulness of post-hardcore acts Handsome and Texas is the Reason.
Following a brief intro of meandering and building guitars in "ATI," "Sure is Lonely Down Here" jumpstarts the album. The song is fast and has that rock and roll take on hardcore accented by slightly distorted shouted vocals. Off the bat, I especially like how the music, especially the guitars, sound vintage. The production isn't over the top and super glossy; instead, it sounds like early 80's hardcore.
Braindead continues along with "Over My Head," which boasts an excellent string of lyrics towards the end that would be perfect for sing-alongs; a dissonant breakdown immediately follows, definitely something that would set the dance floor off.
Braindead experiment with their more melodic side on "Guilt and Shame." The guitars are not nearly as fierce and the music reminds me of Ambitions. The vocals are scaled back as well with more harmonies and less shouting. This experimentation is showcased again on "Presented In." While the song starts off with a blistering pace, it reaches a breaking point flows into a slow-tempo groove. "Dear Alison" is the band's most obvious directional change. The song is an instrumental venture into the world of post-hardcore, showcasing the guitar talents within the band with its many layered textures.
The band quickly ups the pace again with "An Exercise in Bad Taste," probably the most aggressive song on the album. The title-track kicks things down a couple of notches, but is still quite heavy, not to mention it features a spot on guitar solo provided by Lord Dom of Pulling Teeth.
"A Wake for a Dream" closes out the album at nearly seven minutes as it mixes fast-paced hardcore with mid-tempo hardcore akin to Modern Life is War. The album concludes in an eruption of slow-churning and fuzzed-out guitars before fading off.
In spite of the fact that No Consequence might not draw the attention that many of the bigger, more-hyped releases of the year are getting, don't let this dissuade your interest. This is one of the better hardcore records of the year. If you miss bands of the early Revelation catalog then you should seriously pick up this album.
