In recent years, the whole UK hardcore scene has been going through an exciting new wave. Many of the best bands going these days -- Higher Power, Chubby And The Gang, the Chisel, Big Cheese -- come from the same loose community of musicians, and a lot of those musicians spent time in the formative bands Arms Race and Violent Reaction. But UK hardcore is a diverse thing, and plenty of great bands don't include any of those people or sound anything like those bands. Case in point: Final Form.
Last year, a mysterious UK band called Final Form released a demo of fast, mean, shred-happy ragers that existed at the borderlands between hardcore and thrash metal. That's not exactly a trailblazing combination; bands have been working with those sounds for decades. But Final Form attacked them with a refreshing vigor, and they were not afraid to sound stupidly awesome. Yesterday, Final Form released their second demo, and it's even better.
Demo 2 opens with a blazing 43-second instrumental intro, and then it burns through four songs' worth of demonic grunt-growls and absolutely ridiculous riffs. This kind of thing is exactly what I needed today. If you're not having the best day, this kind of music can be soothing on some deep and elemental level. I heartily suggest that you listen for yourself below.
Demo 2 is out now on The Coming Strife Records.
