Negative Prayer
Negative Prayer
Carbonized Records
Released: March 10, 2023
From San Jose, California come Negative Prayer with their debut release, a self-titled 7″.
If this is the level of material on offer bang off the bat, on a debut record, then I am going on record right fucking now as saying that Negative Prayer not only have my undivided attention but my eye too, which I will keep sternly planted upon them and what they do next. And, my ears too, I suppose. This is getting weird now. Like I should be gearing up for a some bearded pint-sized fellah to pop up and yell and my axe, or some such nonsense.
Anyway. What we have here, is a duo that consists of Kyle House on guitars and vocals while Charles Koryn takes care of the drumming side of things. A blend of crust punk, d-beat hardcore and old school death metal. Featuring current and former members of Chthonic Deity, Decrepisy, Thanamagus, and Vastum (none of which I have heard of before now, but will look into some rainy day down the road).
See Also: Anatomy Of Habit “Black Openings” Review
Despite containing but three tracks, for a running time of roughly eleven minutes, this self-titled Negative Prayer EP really hit home with me. A lot of music finds it way to me through my email or from people slipping me physical copies of their material (which is smart, considering my addiction to physical media… just sayin’) and my patience is normally quite thing when checking into these titles. Meaning the material has to grab my attention within the first minute or there’s a good chance I’ll move on to the next piece.
Well, Negative Prayer had me hooked within seconds. Combining several of my favorite musical genres and crafting quality, memorable tracks with the mulch will do that. This is a premium blend of old school UK or Swedish death metal, crust punk and a whole lot of groove thrown in too. It probably goes without saying that brutality ensues, as all of the aforementioned styles contain that key ingredient.
At times, you’ll find a Dismember like melodic ripping riff, played over a crusty hardcore d-beat into an Entombed inspired groove riff. At other times, the guitar work relies on power chords and the sort of timing you might find on a Tragedy record, with leads that follow that path too. The one area that isn’t overtly varied, is the vocals – that are always a low pitched old school death metal growl.
Read More:
>> Carlos Soria of The Nils
>> Jon Glen of Another Joe
>> Poison Ruïn “Härvest” Review
Three songs. It’s not enough. I’m hooked. I need more.
There are two versions of this seven-inch record available; a black one, and a white one – both are limited so get that squeegee and bucket out, clean some windshields and get you some. There’s also a digital version too if that’s what floats your boat.
For Fans Of: Tragedy, Dismember, Entombed
Track Listing:
01. Morbid
02. Hell
03. Noose
