Integrity/Krieg Split

Combining two behemoths like Krieg and Integrity into one split is a near guarantee that the walls are going to tremble and floors will shake with blackened hardcore infused grooves. Cascading out of your listening device is a rapture of soul sucking metal from two veteran elite bands from their respective communities. Integrity are considerably far more mature and delve into sinister depths that are unlike the usual hardcore ilk of their Victory Records roots. It is reasonable to imagine that Dwid Hellion’s creative juggernaut would fit magnificently with the corrosive audible spawn of New Jersey’s Krieg. Their blackened branches may extend into different places but stem from the same bile.

It’s no surprise that Integrity kicks the door down with relentless force on “Scorched Earth,” a song that starts like screeching tires just before a car wreck before opening up into a maelstrom gut wrenching leads and palm muted riffs that tear at the psyche. Crashing and burning from out of the abyss lands Dwid Hellion, a charismatic enigma who somehow manages to contain all of the energy at his back and disperses it into malevolent guttural howls.

Yep, I think I’m going to like this split; Integrity’s transformation from metalcore (not that nicely polished 2000s stuff, mind you) into a legitimate blackened unit could not be any more successful. From the D-Beat inspired “Sons of Satan” to the unstoppable assault on “Flames of the Immortal”, Integrity are still provoking the hordes with intense creative bursts of sonic warfare.

Further tracing their lineage back to the vault of old school hardcore punk, Integrity performs a cover of G.I.S.M’s “Document One.” To put it simply, this song kicks ass and Integrity did a wonderful job of capturing the spirit of the original song while staying true to their own sound.

And then you have Krieg, a band with a storied reputation in the USBM scene, and if “Circle of Guilt” should tell you anything it is that they will have the mana to follow up Integrity. Their first track is a sick dose of negativity. Hammering down with a vicious force that will penetrate your will to live, Krieg’s pair of unreleased recordings and a live version of “The Sick Winds Stir the Cold Dawn” will leave any USBM purist salivating for more sonic dread.