暴力装置 (Bōryoku Sōchi) Corruption of the Lawful Violence CD

This is another release on the very active Black Konflik label (a passionate enterprise indeed), with yet another Japanese hardcore band that I am clueless about. Which, in fact, is a lovely feeling, as it allows me to register new bands, expand my knowledge, and give me new opportunities to outshine (if not outcrust) the competition during important punk social events like the annual Punk Nerds Symposium. I was expecting 暴力装置 (BOROYOKU SOHCHI) to deliver Burning Spirits hardcore but, beside the song “State Power” that does abide rather gloriously by the epic standards of the genre, the main influence is beefy Swedish hardcore. The vocals are right between BASTARD’s Tokurow and CIMEX’s Freke. The riffs and overall songwriting clearly point to ’90s ANTI-CIMEX and the bands that worked on that specific angle, like NAILBITER or early WIND OF PAIN (to name just a few). I am not convinced by the production though, there is too much reverb on the vocals for me and the sound sometimes makes me feel like I am listening to the band underwater. I think it would have sounded more powerful and impactful with less effects. Still, it does the job, I really like the vocal tone, and I had a good time listening to the five songs, so I may just be an ungrateful bastard like my dad always told me when I skipped classes.