EP REVIEW: Split – Kill Your Idols & Rule Them All

When it comes to New York Hardcore, there have been so many notable bands that have risen up in the Big Apple that when you look back at all those names, both past and present, it makes you wonder at just how legendary that scene was and still is. AGNOSTIC FRONT, CRO-MAGS, REAGAN YOUTH, HEART ATTACK, CRUMBSUCKERS, GORILLA BISCUITS, WARZONE, CAUSE FOR ALARM… the list goes on and on.

With an area as large as NY, it goes beyond the five boroughs, and while Manhattan (particularly the Lower East Side, home of the aforementioned AF, CRO-MAGS, CAUSE FOR ALARM etc.), Queens (SICK OF IT ALL, MURPHY’S LAW, KILLING TIME, TOKEN ENTRY etc.) and Brooklyn (BIOHAZARD, MERAUDER and so many more) are probably the best known, there is an abundance of places in NY and the state itself that can claim hardcore bands of their own, all of which have laid a claim to some of the best hardcore music ever made.

This brings us to hardcore from Long Island – unfairly a possibly overlooked area when it comes to HC, but one that has a long line of hardcore heroes hailing from the area including BACKTRACK, VISION OF DISORDER and SILENT MAJORITY. You can also add KILL YOUR IDOLS and RULE THEM ALL to that list, as both bands have been putting out quality hardcore for a long time now, and have joined forces for a split release on Flatspot Records that showcases just how vibrant they both sound today.

While RULE THEM ALL are relative newcomers (the band formed in 2017), they still have the passion and experience to demonstrate exactly what a force they are when it comes to hardcore, and KILL YOUR IDOLS sound just as intense as they did when they first burst onto the scene back in 1995, so having them together is a no brainer when it comes to showcasing the sheer power of LIHC.

KILL YOUR IDOLS have a long history of doing split releases with some of the best punk and hardcore bands of all time (POISON IDEA, 7 SECONDS, VORHEES and GOOD RIDDANCE among them) and you can definitely add this one with RULE THEM ALL to that list, as both both bands go hard over their respective tracks.

Both bands get two songs apiece (KILL YOUR IDOLS open with Tragic and the aptly titled Simple, Short And Fast, while RULE THEM ALL follow with Uneasy Faith and The Temptation) and although it is over as quickly as it began, they both make their mark with precise demonstrations of vivid, energetic and passionate hardcore music.

This is a brief but effective showcase of both KILL YOUR IDOLS and RULE THEM ALL and acts as a brilliant example of the past, present and future of Long Island Hardcore colliding, particularly the future part as both bands sound as vibrant as ever and show absolutely no signs of slowing down.

Rating: 8/10

Split is set for release on March 4th via Flatspot Records.

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