Southern California’s Militarie Gun is a newcomer with extensive experience in the field of hardcore punk. Multi-instrumentalist Ian Shelton started this project alone early in the pandemic, later recruiting four others to accompany his sing-scream vocals: guitarist Nick Cogan (Drug Church), guitarist William Acuña, drummer Vince Nguyen (Modern Color), and bassist Max Epstein. They released two EPs this year: All Roads Lead to the Gun and All Roads Lead to the Gun II, bringing us a total of eight passionate post-hardcore punk tracks.
In his vocals, Shelton retains the aggression from his other powerviolence band Regional Justice Center, but here he offers more melodic elements while barking messages of disappointment and hope. These vulnerable lyrics echo across mid-tempo chords, both crunchy and clean, and at times even acoustic, giving Militarie Gun a grungy, emo, alt-rock edge. The hard-hitting riffs are broken up by tempo changes and bent melodic solos drenched in reverb. These thrilling tracks take hardcore punk in a fresh direction.
