SoCal hardcore group Scalp dropped their debut album
Domestic Extremity back in November, a ten-track clobbering of meat pulverizing beats, wolverine clawed chords, and malodorous death vocals. Their defining influences are power violence and death metal, crowning themselves with the disconcerting, admittedly awkward, but descriptive label, "death violence." And I know what you're thinking, "Dude, how many bands combine Dead in the Dirt with Grave or Entombed?" I get it, there are a lot of dudes doing this sort of thing right now, but trust me, Scalp stands out. Even in a crowded house, you can tell when they're in the room. The reason for this I think is how loose a lot of their compositions feel. The band clearly put a lot of work into writing and performing these tracks (with a little help from Taylor Young of Nails), and they manage to capture an improvisational vibe, as if having been manifested extemporaneously. This off the cuff feel means that you can never really tell where a song is going until it gets there, which really amplifies the exhilarating experience of these already frenzied tunes. Examples abound! Just to pull a few out of my hat; there is the rolling drum solo in the bridge of "INDIGENT BOTULIN," the ostensible d-beat grunge chords that start off "CROUCH," the flesh gnawing, acid-swamp dirgy grooves of "DEPLETED MASS," and the trampoline bassline of the title track, that seems to send ever other part of the song into a bruising, end-split ricochet around the mix. Every hit comes at you like it was cutting a mile downrange from a sniper's barrel. You won't feel the impact until you realize that you're in sudden and desperate need of a tourniquet. Get suchered up soldier, because Scalp ain't waiting around so you can get a kiss on the cheek from one of the cute nurses in the trauma ward. Scalps's got places to be and skulls to peel.
Get a copy of
Domestic Extremity here.
