Ydinaseeton Pohjola / Ydintuho split 7″
First of all, let’s give it up for the Finnish language for giving us a split EP between two bands whose names start with the prefix “Ydin.” A split doomed to hang out in at the very back end of any properly alphabetized collection. All linguistic concerns aside, this should be pushed up to the front of the queue in terms of quality! YDINASEETON POHJOLA are a fucking stellar example of a modern Finnish band carrying the legacy left by ’80s heavy hitters like KAAOS, offering two quick tracks of nasty, treble-y hardcore with vocals so raw that they’re almost plaintive, and hooks that’ll stick with you long after the record has left the turntable. YDINTUHO are just as raw, but mining a completely different vein: dropping three tracks of very early DISCLOSE-style blown-out D-beat, complete with crazed solos and some truly epic, conquering riffs. Fuck y’all, this is an early seed for best split EP of the year, and I can imagine that later contenders will have a hard time knocking it off. Fucking great stuff—buy now or regret it later as there are only 300 copies to be had!