Countervail

In The Event... marks a welcome musical evolution in the continuing sonic discord of Countervail's relatively young recording existence. Their excellent debut full-length, The Most Abused Word, released early last year, saw Countervail's sound grow increasingly streamlined and refined, combining the best aspects of the new breed of hardcore/metal/noise bands with an emotional slant only hinted at with previous work. However, while In The Event... maintains this base ("Downward," for instance), it has shifted its sound to a more math/noise rock-oriented approach, growing more discordant, emotional and catchier in the process. "All Smiles In the Face of Disgrace" transverses the same territory as We Are The Romans-era Botch, as all of this EP tends to do, yet with a slightly more straightforward attack, providing ease of comprehension for people sick of technical excess and riffs that won't be divided, no matter how powerful the calculator. However, while the more rock approach suits Countervail's sound, their strength and individuality has always revolved around the emotional riffing and atmosphere that permeates their songs, which has not diminished with this welcomed sonic shift or the continuing membership changes. "Sunset Sensation" and "Oxygen Mask" round out this four-song EP, with electronic intro/outro bookends complementing the harsher moments, earmarking In The Event... as an exceptional EP and Countervail has contenders.