ALBUM REVIEW: Oblivion Opens – Imposter

Brighton hardcore would not be in the rude health that it is were it not for bands like IMPOSTER who paved the way. Those aren’t so much our own words as those of one of the BN1’s very finest in NO RELIEF when we chatted to them earlier this year, and they’re right. The five-piece put out a demo way back in 2017 and followed it up quickly enough with 2019’s Crown Of Horns EP, which means that this debut full-length of theirs feels quite a while overdue – even more so considering they dropped a promo for it over two years ago. But anyway, here it is; Oblivion Opens this Friday with the backing of one of the best labels in UK hardcore aka Quality Control HQ.

It is important to know before you go into it that this isn’t one of those hardcore records that will make you feel good about yourself, ready to take on the world or overthrow a government or set a new P.B. in the gym – well, it could probably help with that last one but that isn’t really the point. Oblivion Opens deals with themes of death, depression, addiction and existential dread, these drawn directly from vocalist Rory O’Neill’s personal experiences and set to a suitably imposing backdrop of bleak negative hardcore influenced by the legendary likes of RINGWORM, INTEGRITY, COLD AS LIFE and even black metal pioneers BATHORY.

The resultant concoction feels simultaneously punky and metallic – perhaps as some might argue all metallic hardcore really should – all rough and gruff and shouty and often quite fast and furious to emphasise the former, but with plenty of hard, jagged riffing to account for the latter. Most tracks aside from the moody and relatively late interlude of Barbaric Apparitions Of War offer some balance of both of these elements, the band proving as compelling and intense in either gear. O’Neill is a captivating, intimidating frontman with a big boomy bark that suits the music really well, while the gritty production of Will Killingsworth (ORCHID, AMPERE) only adds to the imposing sense of menace that prevails throughout the record.

The only catches really are that a half-hour runtime is a touch on the long side for the amount of range on offer here, and perhaps that the aforementioned interlude could have been placed a couple of tracks earlier to offset this a little. But those are definitely minor points and either way Oblivion Opens remains harrowingly immersive. Hardcore can be many things to many people but here IMPOSTER invite listeners into a bleak and unforgiving hellscape that recalls a collection of bands who are rightly regarded as some of the best to ever do it, while also having enough of its own flavour to avoid any accusations of cheap imitation or parody.

Rating: 8/10

Oblivion Opens is set for release on June 28th via Quality Control HQ.