Filed under: Reviews
Cross Laws-Ancient Rites EP (Sorry State Records, 1102 N. Greensboro St. Carrboro, NC 27510) Sophomore slump be damned: on”Ancient Rites”, their second EP on Sorry State, North Carolina’s Cross Laws maintain the urgency and brutality of earlier material, but have reworked their sonic onslaught into a sprawling, faceted juggernaut.
Their midwestern/SoCal hc worship has mutated into a darker, catchier barrage this time around, more elaborate and punishing than what came before. Naysayers take heed, however: while they’ve expanded in leaps and bounds over (slightly) earlier material, the stripped down RF7/N.O.T.A./Koro-style ripping is well accounted for throughout this effort, though bolstered by brooding melody. As should be expected, these seven bouts of hc/punk wrath rupture like so many lanced boils, though the ferment is laced with a saccharine burn not unlike that championed by Agent Orange at their “Living In Darkness” prime. The vocal work, a rabid Jerry A meets “Damaged”-era Rollins snarl, adds considerable venom to these hymns of unrest.
Cross Laws function like a well oiled machine here, delivering some of the rawest, most infectious hardcore in recent memory. Mind melt.-Mike Ramek
