Now definitely mark this one down as a surprise. After jamming the hell out of 2016s God’s Hate and Eternal Sleep, it has been a killer year for down-tuned, groovy, angry-ass hardcore. Well then while traipsing through the queue here at Teeth I ran across an EP from a band called The Apex, and it was only three songs so I gave her a quick listen to see what was on offer, and damn was I impressed. Calling themselves “ghetto tech metal” (because another genre is exactly what we need), this Ontario 5 piece kicks some serious ass.

Featuring former members of bands such as Closed Casket Funeral, Dismata, and Corprophemia, their style is a mix of hardcore, death metal, and even a bit of grind. Fans of aforementioned bands as well as The Red Chord, Harm’s Way, and even Ion Dissonance will really like what’s on display here. It’s all driven forward by vocalist Darren Marchand, who after doing some research on the band found out that he suffers from what is known as Neurogenic Stammering, which means he’s unable to carry on a normal conversation, but is able to (very forcefully) deliver all the lyrics for the band’s songs; one of those really interesting things about us humans that’s hard to understand, but phenomenal in that it still allows someone to express themselves as an artist.

The production here is killer, with a tasty little buzz to the guitar tones, and the whole thing coming in at just over 11 minutes. The band does have a previous full length that I would encourage you to seek out if you like this. Definitely a group to keep tabs on in 2017 as hopefully this is just a teaser for an upcoming LP.

[Visit the band's website]

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