By Keith Carman

You know a band is onto something when they can redefine what you thought were the parameters of a particular genre. In the case of Lewd Acts and this debut full-length, that would be making us realize that there is actually another meeting point between the various coastal versions of old school hardcore that we’d never considered. Essentially, this just means dividing up the factions of influence to new ratios but it still ensures there is something fresh to what these guys are up to. Pulling their venom from the blunt attitude of New York yet factoring in some of Los Angeles’ adrenaline and even including some of the new school—one could call Converge “new” in comparison to Lewd Acts’ other influences—via harmonized guitars and non-linear structures, the end result on Black Eye Blues is beastly and thick, almost pushing towards what Cursed were up to on their final opus but falling just short of that doom influence. Leaden and imposing while still agile and heated, Black Eye Blues isn’t redefining the world of hardcore overall but it’s still bold, inspired and original enough to be stunning.

(Deathwish)

Rating: 7.5