In the past year or so, the Denver punk and hardcore label Convulse Records has put out music from MSPAINT, Destiny Bond, Gumm, Big Laugh, Eliminators, and Pat Flynn's new project How Much Art, among many others. Anytime I get an alert from the Convulse Bandcamp, I give that record a shot, and I'm never sorry that I did. Today, for instance, Convulse presents us with a new cassette-only EP from the Toronto band Head Crack, and it's worth your time.
Head Crack released their demo in 2023, but they're new to me. The band's sound is fully immersed in the '80s crossover-thrash moment, when hardcore and speed metal first met up and became friends.That's been fertile territory for years, and even the generic version of the sound is usually pretty good. But Head Crack's take isn't generic. It's messy but precise, and I really like the hint of melodic vulnerability in the reverb-drunk vocals.
Headcrack's new EP Zero 2 Dust is out today, and it rocks. The big chant on the "A.E.I. (Analyze Enemy Intel)" chorus seems destined to cause absolute live-show chaos. Listen below.
The Zero 2 Dust EP is out now on Convulse.
