Throats - 2010 Throats

Band : Throats
Album : Throats
Release Year : 2010
Genre : Hardcore | Chaotic

Tracklist:
1. Wake
2. My Hands Are Cold
3. Fuck Life
4. Failgiver
5. Something Low From This Way Comes
6. Oaken/Wait

Throats definitely takes things to the next level with their debut full-length. In the past, this hardcore band from across the Atlantic has been hailed pretty highly. “Converge on acid,” the Gallows front man called them, and Throats was also pegged as one NME’s “bands to look out for.” That’s pretty hefty for a band that’s only released a few demos and splits. In my opinion, Throats manages to withstand the expectations that have been built around them like a moat; they don’t necessarily hurdle the moat in a flying leap, per se, but they get to the other side safely and surely. What I’m trying to say is- Throats isn’t without faults, of course. The album is a bit short-lived. Clocking in at less than 20 minutes, Throats never quite get a chance to cement their style and make their presence known. Throats is certainly dynamic, but this inhibits their ability to create a truly memorable experience as the album tends to drift.

Now that the nasty part (ephemeral as it is) is out of the way, let’s move on to the diverting aspect, shall we? For starters, it becomes clear right away that Throats is a fierce and even harrowing experience. To revisit the allegory that began this review- Throats is a rough and unrelenting band that exerts an incredible amount of sheer energy. The opening chords of “Wake” aren’t very telling; deliberate and slow, this is as much a break as Throats is willing to give. For a more revealing picture of Throats, fast forward to “*** Life” and feast your ears on the collision of incomprehensible screams (a la hardcore punk style) and highly technical riffs. The more noteworthy moments, though, come in the variation on Throats, the times they differ from the tried-and-true formula of loud/abrasive + loud/abrasive + loud/abrasive = loud/abrasive. All but one of the songs fit into intense 2 minute stampedes, and that is the ambitious closer. Listen to “Oaken/Wait” (not too many times though- I don’t want your ears to fall off) and hear Throat’s ability to construct a 7-minute epic. With layers and riffs galore, the song even includes a sample in the background that eventually erupts to a woman’s shrill screams before tailspinning down into a valley of minimal guitar strums to smooth over the damage done by Throats.

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