Comeback Kid: Through the Noise review

Formed in Winnipeg, Canada in 2000, Comeback Kid have been a staple in the hardcore music scene since dropping their debut full length, Turn It Around, in 2003. What started out as an intended side project has grown at an exponential rate and amassed a massive cult of devout followers; not to mention a catalog of five full length albums and a live CD/DVD combo called Through The Noise. The name, Comeback Kid, is extremely misleading, due to the fact that the band never really left, but that doesn’t stop them from treating their newest release for Victory records, Die Knowing, like they had by mounting a full scale assault as lethal as any military action in history, to reassert their place as a force to be reckoned with. Die Knowing is by far the heaviest and most cohesive record they have produced since Andrew Neufeld abandoned his axe and stepped into the role of frontman after founder and original vocalist Scott Wade left the band. The album serves as a stout reminder that Comeback Kid are here to stay. The slow, churning, dissonant riff of opener and title track “Die Knowing” has an epic build similar to the material on the Judas Priest album Nostradamus, paired with a vocal line as abrasive as sandpaper while “Lower The Line” and “I Depend, I Control” are throwbacks to the 80’s thrash of Testament, Exodus or Agnostic Front and feature brutal hardcore breakdowns. “Wasted Arrows” and “Unconditional” are both very reminiscent of Crowbar from the sense of urgency in the jackhammer riffing all the way down to the raspy and strained Kirk Windstein vocal delivery. At the same time, “Beyond” is a perfect blending of punk and hardcore with some very powerful and predominate gang vocals on the choruses. Here’s the bottom line- Die Knowing is extremely streamlined and focused with all songs clocking in under three minutes. It incorporates elements of all their influences and expands on the foundations set by its predecessors and is heavy as hell while managing to be exceptionally melodic at the same time. Rating: 9/10 -Eric Hunker