At first, a thrashy hardcore band from Seattle, Washington seems like a rather odd fit for Southern Lord, with its eclectic, doom-heavy roster of bands like Earth, Sunn O))), Om and Boris. But one listen to Black Breath’s debut EP Razor To Oblivion, and you’ll realize that label founder Greg Anderson’s finely-tuned nose for underground talent has struck again. This pacific northwest foursome’s music has a maturity and energy that belies their relative inexperience, and this being their debut EP, they will probably only get better from here.

Despite being labelled as a hardcore band, Black Breath’s music doesn’t come across to my ears as having much to do with that genre, except perhaps in vocal style. Instead, the opener ‘Razor To Oblivion’ resembles a more brutal and better-produced version of Kill Em All era Metallica. Despite the old school riffing, the excellent production and the band’s ballsy, knife-edged guitar tone give this EP a very modern appeal.

The various hardcore elements are hidden well enough that they blend in with the rest of the things Black Breath have going on, turning Razor To Oblivion into a brief but consistently adrenaline-laced explosion of metallic goodness. The first couple songs are well rooted in thrash riffing, while ‘Murder’ and ‘Beneath The Crust’ are slightly slower and heavier, but all four tracks are excellent and filled with great riffs. Black Breath burns through Razor To Oblivion’s 15 minutes with a ferocity that will surely leave fans eagerly anticipating the band’s upcoming full-length, which comes out later this year.

» Buy Razor To Oblivion at Amazon.com