by Hugo Reyes (@hvreyes5)
The tentacles of metalcore are wide and varied since its incarnation in the 90’s. You can trace its beginnings to several bands, including Deadguy, whose first record Fixation on a Coworker is a canonical text for any person with a passing interest in the genre. Some 25 years later, and Deadguy is still fertile ground to excavate for modern bands. Take one listen to Colonial Wound’s first release Untitled to see what I mean. The vocals are unmistakably delivered in a similar vein to Tim Singer but are still modern, adding a much needed update to this style of metalcore. Their newest release, Degradation, only ups the ante, bringing in more of a noise rock influence, not sounding too dissimilar to Exhalants or Unsane.
While it may not seem like it, a lot has changed for the group by the time you’re hearing Colonial Wound’s second EP. The project originally was started between Dylan Mikos and Ben Clifton in 2018. It would soon become a much more serious endeavor when a close friend passed away. Since then there has been a retooling, shifting the lineup around. Mikos moved away from his vocal duties, bringing in Jeremy Atkins to step into the role. This change is barely perceptible, partially helped by just how buried the vocals are on Untitled. It's a little tweak that still keeps things fresh, making each release feel special in its own way.
“I” comes barreling out and slowly lurches forth. It has that clear production where its as clean as hardcore can get, with the guitars and vocals battling for your ears. There is some patience that’s to be appreciated here. They’re not looking to beat you down with brute force for several minutes, instead pulling back at times, introducing a sly melodic guitar run here and there before returning to its low end drawl. The following two tracks, “II” and “III” follow along the same trajectory, solidifying Colonial Wound as one of the most promising acts to emerge in hardcore in the last few years.