Various

Proving that Canadian extreme music is still not tapped out, the wealth of artists that comprise Black Eyes & Broken Bones is impressive. Thirty-one tracks of relentless hardcore, punk and metal coagulate into a molten mass of overdriven guitars, throat-tearing wails and blazing drums, as the likes of Comeback Kid, Fucked Up, Video Dead, Savannah, Cancer Bats, Arise & Ruin, To The Lions, Cobra Noir, Cursed and more donate their abilities to this compilation. Naturally, a few of the lesser-known acts receiving a boost by being featured here leave something to be desired but if they manage to maintain the same degree of company displayed throughout this comp they should have no difficulty becoming top players in due time. An unusual realisation also ensues with Black Eyes & Broken Bones: how minimal the disparity is between subgenres when the aforementioned outfits can become complementary bed-mates. Were one to otherwise recommend pairing, say, Cursed’s banshee-laden thunder with West Coast politi-punks the Rebel Spell, chaos would ensue. Here, however, the dynamic ride and moderate shift in preferences become welcome freshness and almost insightful, where other compilation albums that are too similar quickly relegate themselves to uninteresting white noise.