The last couple of years have been big for reunions within hardcore, not the least being the much anticipated return of Earth Crisis (pictured) after several years of side-projects and one-off super groups. While the Mod Club may initially seem a tad upscale for such a visceral line-up, the venue has some of the best sound in town and was more than appropriate to handle the onslaught.
As people slowly filtered in accompanied by Unholy's solid, metallic hardcore, it became clear that regardless of the turn-out, the bands were dead set on giving it their all. Reign Supreme took the stage next, heartily supporting their much-hyped debut, American Violence, with an aggressive if somewhat predictable set of tough, yet tastefully up-tempo mosh-y hardcore. This set the stage for Walls of Jericho, which arguably garnered the best reception of the night. Seemingly on tour constantly, Walls blasted through a handful of tracks spanning their career, wisely not focusing on new material, and delivered the same, solid Slayer-meets-Buried Alive crunch we all know them for.
Shortly afterwards it was time for Earth Crisis to take the stage, and to be honest, it felt like they never left. Not showing even the most superficial signs of rust, Karl Buechner and company demonstrated their ultimate dominance over their imitators effectively, touching upon their entire discography, and wisely neglecting their questionable 2000 effort Slither for the most part. Delivering a healthy amount of politically charged ranting between numbers without diluting the intensity, EC proved beyond any doubt that they are a genuine, talented group that would do well to stay on the touring circuit for a while and school the unfortunate multitudes in putting on a good show. Straightedge anthem "Firestorm" capped the evening off nicely, and despite a mediocre crowd reception, those who came out, undoubtedly left satisfied.
As people slowly filtered in accompanied by Unholy's solid, metallic hardcore, it became clear that regardless of the turn-out, the bands were dead set on giving it their all. Reign Supreme took the stage next, heartily supporting their much-hyped debut, American Violence, with an aggressive if somewhat predictable set of tough, yet tastefully up-tempo mosh-y hardcore. This set the stage for Walls of Jericho, which arguably garnered the best reception of the night. Seemingly on tour constantly, Walls blasted through a handful of tracks spanning their career, wisely not focusing on new material, and delivered the same, solid Slayer-meets-Buried Alive crunch we all know them for.
Shortly afterwards it was time for Earth Crisis to take the stage, and to be honest, it felt like they never left. Not showing even the most superficial signs of rust, Karl Buechner and company demonstrated their ultimate dominance over their imitators effectively, touching upon their entire discography, and wisely neglecting their questionable 2000 effort Slither for the most part. Delivering a healthy amount of politically charged ranting between numbers without diluting the intensity, EC proved beyond any doubt that they are a genuine, talented group that would do well to stay on the touring circuit for a while and school the unfortunate multitudes in putting on a good show. Straightedge anthem "Firestorm" capped the evening off nicely, and despite a mediocre crowd reception, those who came out, undoubtedly left satisfied.
