FRESHLY BAKED: THE_NETWORK

In "Freshly Baked," we feature promising young bands or bands that are otherwise lacking the attention we think they deserve.

by theseseans (NYC)

Download: the_Network - "Corpse Paint" [MP3]

I was fifteen. In the previous year or two I had begun to move away from MTV marketed heaviness, exploring a brand new world called hardcore. As an angry New England youth Blood For Blood were an easy sell, but it was Hatebreed that really got me. Satisfaction Is The Death Of Desire did not leave my car. I traveled down the coast of Maine to Portland to see Hatebreed, and what I found was five dudes setting up to open the show under the name Converge. After their set I was lost down the rabbit hole today called metal-core. I immediately sought out Converge’s discography and soon saw them again live (this time just a four piece) and bought Jane Doe at the show. Soon I found Dillinger, Botch, Coalesce, Cave In and my love for extreme music blossomed. I got into Pantera, saw what would be their final tour and was introduced to Morbid Angel. I spent hours listening to Slayer. But it all started with Converge and really, Hatebreed. Unfortunately metal-core has since been perverted, the results replacing the very marketed garbage I was escaping in the beginning; but there was a time when metal-core truly embodied innovation in heavy music.

the_Network bring an honest and invigorating record forth in their Black Market Activities debut Bishop Kent Manning. While you aren't going to bask in seemingly impossible Knudson-esq guitar parts, or Dillinger like tempo changes, the_Network clearly have early nineties metal-core as the heart of their sound. What makes this band special is that in a time when metal-core seems like a corporate sponsored way for 17 year olds to live out their dreams of rock stardom under a blurred sky of breakdowns; the_Network have created a sound and feel all their own. How about that? The bulk of their sound is abrasive and noisy, but as the track "Corpse Paint" (download available above) shows, the band has versatility. Their use of melody and a not-quite-screaming-all-the-time vocal delivery walks a fine line of being true to a song, without falling into an easy way out.

See our previous post for the_Network's current tour dates. Their live shows have reputation for being violent. Unhinged. Dangerous. Not safe. Sounds like fun right? Sounds like this music is supposed to.