Source: EP Artwork
Newcastle’s GroundCulture certainly know how to make a first impression, their debut EP not only sees them establish a concrete sound from the off, but delivers it with enough conviction to let you know there’s buckets of potential within the bands armory.
With the gritty riffs and vocal tone reminiscent of Knocked Loose, ‘Sculptures’ and ‘Derailed’ are your standard hardcore elbow raisers, full of attitude and venom – you can almost envision the circle pits consuming you. While this balls to the wall style of hardcore is hardly an original concept, the Geordies are convincing fire starters – and there’s a sense here that future experience and growth could culminate to create something that could make the earth move.
Perhaps the most positive aspect of this EP (as contradictory as it may seem) is that there is a feeling here that GroundCulture are holding something back. It makes sense though, why push yourselves to your creative limit for a debut EP? And if the case is that the northerners are saving their best for later on – that’s a prospect we should be excited for.
The closing one two of ‘Narrative’ and ‘Compassion Pt. 2’ though add a sense of loss and sincerity to the EP with their melodic influences and fluctuating tone. It gives GroundCulture a humanistic element which they can choose to explore at a later date, they sound much more convincing when they’re trying to rid you of your flesh – but the Being As An Ocean style delivery here doesn’t harm the band, and for the time being is an interesting footnote to a volatile EP.
As far as introductions go; GroundCulture have done a succinct job here of putting themselves directly in the mix of up and coming hardcore bands. There’s undoubtedly a long way to go, and immediately here you’re wondering how the band can up the scale when it comes to a full length record; but this self titled EP lands with enough force to more than raise an eyebrow. With the right amount of time and decision making, we’ve got yet another hardcore band ready to make waves on our hands.
