Kontaminate

Reviews

Kontaminate 8 Songs cassette

This lot is from Richmond, home of many a good band, and this is my first contact with them. I am a little torn over this one because I am not sure what KONTAMINATE is really trying to pull off. Technically, raw D-beat hardcore is a style I literally feel at home with, as I have a room in my palace that is exclusively dedicated to the genre. KONTAMINATE strives, as far as I can tell, to locate themselves at the crossroads between snotty American hardcore and ’80s DISCHARGE-influenced hardcore. When they manage to sound like early FINAL CONFLICT or recreate BODY COUNT’s raw angry sound, I think they are great, but there are songs that I feel sound a little disjointed and lacking direction. But then I have never really cared for traditional ’80s US hardcore, so it could be me. One thing KONTAMINATE is undeniably good at is the recreation of an almost perfect raw ’80s hardcore sound, warts and all. Eight songs in about ten minutes, so you know what you are in for. Urgent hardcore worth keeping an eye on.

Kontaminate Blood Hunger demo cassette

The 11 PM logo on a demo is always a good sign, as they have been consistently releasing the best fresh-sounding hardcore bands in the US. This time they released the kick-ass demo of Richmond-based KONTAMINATE, featuring members of NOSEBLEED and JACKAL. The mash of spazzy, almost Scandinavian-sounding TOTALITÄR riffs over a NECROS backbone makes KONTAMINATE an essential modern USHC band to keep an eye on. Five tracks of unrelenting bangers, with the cherry on top in the form of a cover of “Crime for Revenge” by ULTRA-VIOLENT, one of the unsung heroes of UKHC. Time to mosh in your room.