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Daggers

It's Not Jazz, It's Blues

Written by: PP on 23/04/2014 00:20:11

What we've come to expect from Throatruiner releases are colossally uncompromising and riveting bands that thrive in the darkest realms of hardcore, sludge, metal and everything in between. Daggers from Belgium are no exception to the rule, delivering barrages upon barrages of some of the most brooding and blackened, crusty hardcore you'll hear on their new album "It's Not Jazz, It's Blues". It's not an album for the faint hearted, but those who appreciate the foreboding, almost demonic undertones in their hardcore -- and like it heavy and dirty in the process - should be looking this way.

But despite its unnerving methods of bruising forward at ultra heavy levels, there is room for brief passages of melody as well. "Blues", for instance, adds in a subtle element of melody to its guitar groove at perfect moments to make the song stand out from the album. But these moments are few and far in between as first and foremost the objective is to create a murky, despaired, and hopeless atmosphere. In fact, atmospheric hardcore is what you could also dub Daggers' crusty expression, because it clearly concentrates on depicting a particular mood much like Gallows' classic "Grey Britain" did back in the day, rather than just playing violently dark hardcore songs for the heck of it. It is this element of artistic ambition that makes Daggers interesting from a sea of contemporaries playing around with crusty sounds at the same time, and one that they must keep at the heart of their expression going forward.

That said, there are also aggressive and chaotic tracks like "Beacon", which are clearly inspired by the Deathwish Inc roster (not to mention the almighty Converge), but mainly the material throughout the album is of mid-tempo variety. In between, you have haunting piano interludes like "Labyrinth" that further progress the soundscape, but it is the groovy "Evermore" that lands as a second highlight of the album with its consistent, driving tempo that breaks into black metal inspired passages halfway through the song.

Overall, "It's Not Jazz, It's Blues" is a recommended album for those who like their hardcore in pitch black colours and with razor-sharp edges. It traverses far outside the norms of the genre to explore the more experimental corners of what is possible to do with hardcore, so if you find traditional hardcore too one dimensional, then Daggers offer an entirely different twist on the genre.

Download: Blues, Beacon, Evermore
For the fans of: Converge, Gallows, Pulling Teeth, Birds In Row
Listen: Facebook

Release date 31.03.2014
Throatruiner Records