End State Blessing in Disguise flexi EP
This is a hard-hitting hardcore record. If the band END STATE was a wrestler, they would belong to the brawling category like Fit Finlay, Jon Moxley, or indeed the infamous Brooklyn Brawler—a rather fitting comparison since they are from New York City, clearly “the place to be” these days. END STATE can be said to be of their time, by which I mean that they blend several schools of hardcore with a raw punk mixer. In the present case, the main ingredients are beefy New York hardcore and cavemen käng hardcore, although I would bet that they grew up with the former rather than the latter. I don’t know or care much for American hardcore, to be quite honest, so some breakdowns and the second song “Nosedive” are totally lost on me. However, when END STATE gets to work on the primitive D-takt sound of SVART PARAD, AGONI, and also even HIATUS or SAUNA at times, they do get the fist pumping. The vocalist does a remarkable job at sounding gruff as hell and he reminds me of DOOM and early crust bands, although it might not be intentional (perhaps more NYHC-influenced?). Only four songs and about five minutes of music on this single-sided flexi, so it does a good job at bollocking the listener anyway, and it is a solid first record.
