REALITY DENIED || …COMES WITH A PRICE
Photo Cred 📸: @scumcollective
It’s not often that you see a Canadian band (or any band, for that matter) so effortlessly combine oldschool NYHC and Pennsylvania-style beatdown while keeping it original and unique. Niagara’s Reality Denied does exactly this in their latest release ...COMES WITH A PRICE. Clocking in at a little over thirteen minutes, ...COMES WITH A PRICE is, frankly, five hard-ass songs tailor-made for the mosh pit.
Forgoing any feedback, intros or samples, the record begins with “Ain’t Optin’.” The opening drums immediately show you what RD is about — pissed off, hardcore for the moshers. This song sets the tone for the rest of the record, packing in as much heaviness as one can on an EP. The ad-libs from vocalist Connor Gibbs are a welcome addition on this song. It can be tough to execute them without sounding corny (see: every MySpace era deathcore band circa 2008), but he absolutely pulls it off.
The next track, “Nothin’ But Hate” begins with riffs that wouldn’t be out of place on an 80s thrash record, then slows down to those all-too-familiar RD chugs you might remember from the last release, carrying itself that way for the rest of the track. “Dollars 2 the Name” is a love letter to bands like Biohazard with its breakbeats and groove riffs, featuring a short ad-lib by Kyle Patterson from Gavel. The last two songs, “RD’d 2 Death” and “Ten Minutes” are much of the same, but that isn’t a bad thing; the variation in tempo changes and creative guitar licks are enough to make ...COMES WITH A PRICE stand out, but not enough to disrupt the flow on the dance floor.
Don’t get it twisted, this record is still full of caveman chug-a-lugs, but you’ll notice more lead guitar work in the mix, especially in the penultimate track. Again, RD isn’t afraid to wear their influences on their sleeves. You might notice tremolo picking throughout the record, emulating that iconic Pennsylvania beatdown sound in the vein of No Retreat and Built Upon Frustration. Produced at Schoolhouse Studios by their very own guitarist, Reality Denied were not fucking around with the sound of …COMES WITH A PRICE.
The drums and guitars sound BIG, as should be expected with an EP of this caliber, but I think the snare needs a special shoutout here. It’s the musical equivalent of a pool ball in a sock, a reverb-heavy crack akin to street-style hardcore bands of the 90s like NJ Bloodline. We spoke to Connor about the making of the EP:
“RECORDING WITH ANDY WAS A BLESSING. WE’RE INSANELY LUCKY TO HAVE OUR GUITAR PLAYER ALSO BE OUR ENGINEER HAHA. GUY KNEW EXACTLY WHAT WE WERE GOING FOR AND ABSOLUTELY KILLED THIS WHOLE RELEASE. REAL PROUD OF THE WORK EVERYBODY DID ON THIS. I APPRECIATE ALL THE LOVE WE’VE GOTTEN OVER THE PAST YEAR OR SO - THIS EP IS JUST THE BEGINNING.
EVERYTHING WE’VE PUT OUT BEFORE THIS WAS JUST A PRECURSOR TO THE THINGS WE’RE WORKING ON NOW. EXPECT LOTS MORE RD STUFF IN THE COMING MONTHS”
- CONNOR, @realitydenied
I hate to use clichéd phrases, but in the case of ...COMES WITH A PRICE, less is more. This is not a hardcore dissertation written by art school kids. This is stripped-down, working class, heavy hardcore that is best experienced live. Even if you can’t experience it live, ...COMES WITH A PRICE is guaranteed increase your heart rate, however you are listening. Welcome to reality.
Checkout their Bandcamp here: Reality Denied
Writer : @dyingyeetus
Editor : @just_reidz
05/25/23
