Haphazardly coalescing from the goopy remnants of beloved (not by me, if I’m being honest, but definitely by plenty of others) San Jose band HeavyHeavyLowLow, the newly formed Bone Cutter ushers in a new era of twisted, darkly humorous, mind-bendingly technical, and even danceable metallic hardcore with their debut self-titled EP. One can immediately see the profound irreverence hasn’t gone anywhere just based on the ridiculous track titles, and “My Wife Is a Dead Cat (Meow)” wastes absolutely no time getting into the thick of things with a tightly executed maelstrom of crushing blast beats, infectious four-on-the-floor groove interludes, and agile vocal trades in less than two minutes. The band has the unique position of being both (former) important progenitors and ardent revivalists of the harsher outskirts of the distinctive sass sound; even though Robert “Robbie” Smith contributes 100% of the vocals according to the credits, his disturbing lyrics are conveyed via a series of disorienting style changes (which should come as no surprise to anyone who’s heard a HHLL track), from guttural growls torn out of a much less sophisticated deathcore playbook to the iconic panicked, whining croons over bouncing dance beats. Even at an almost infuriatingly brisk six-or-so-minutes, Bone Cutter firmly lodges itself in one’s head. Whether it’s memorable lines like “But we’d be feeling lighter / If we didn’t have to carry these bodies” or the catchy gallop of “Peckinpah Leather Crackle” (thanks in large part to the indefatigable rhythm section that is the Fritter brothers) that form the irremovable hooks catching on the seams of our skull, those “in the know” must beware… once you start playing this thing it’s utterly impossible to stop.
Noise Not Music 