Cutthroats 9

There is simply no disputing the legacy of New York noise purveyors Unsane. Legions of bands have imitated, been influenced by and stolen outright, but no one created the dense sonic cacophony that Unsane trademarked. Noise rock, hardcore, metal, they transcended genres and helped create new ones (see Deadguy), so it was a time of mourning when the band resigned itself to the inevitable. After all the scars, albums and physical/auditory damage to innocent bystanders, the band broke-up, not with a roar but with a whimper. No final album, no farewell tour, no "goodbye and thanks for the memories, you ungrateful bastards." However, point-men Chris Spencer and Dave Curran barely let the ink dry on the Unsane obituary before unleashing this new group of musical terrorists, the Cutthroats 9. Content to wade in the deep end of the noise rock pool, CT.9's identity is defined by Spencer and Curran in much the same way Unsane's was, so it should come as no surprise that CT.9 is more a continuation of the Unsane's auditory pummelling than a new musical endeavour. Spencer's customary distorted vocals are omnipresent, as is his scraping guitar riffs, piercing feedback and thick, sludge riffs, but the sound is filled out by an element the Unsane never possessed, a second guitarist, courtesy of Mark Laramie. New drummer Will Carroll also rises to the challenge of matching Spencer and Curran's pedigree, with Curran's rumbling bass anchoring the musical devastation while Carroll alternately guides it and succumbs to it. Tracks like "Dirty," the aptly named "Sludge" and "Move" are as vicious, droning and oppressive as anything the Unsane ever birthed, and maybe just a little more scathing than latter day Unsane. While the Cutthroats 9 debut doesn't break the ground that the Unsane did in their formative years, it is an imposing release that should decimate non-believers.