In 2007, Canadian fast hardcore band About to Snap broke up a day before the band’s scheduled show in Parkersburg, West Virginia. The day they broke up wasn’t necessarily the day when singer Tim Drew set down his mic – which at that point was dented, pocketed remnants of dried blood and boast a thin layer of saliva and sweat. The band of four Canucks played their last set in Sarnia on August 10 of that year. The days of having blood on the wall, conducting circle pits and being that band that loves Strike Anywhere were forever tiled into memory lane.
Almost two years later, members of ATS started a new band called THE PROOF, or THExPROOF, which distinctively encompasses the power-violence “retard” vocals (see Infest). But that isn’t accompanied by a ridiculously fast melody, so it’s certainly more coherent than its counterparts. The sound, however, steps away from the thrashcore/power violence style and establishes itself in the good ol’ raw, low budget sounds of hardcore.
I’m curious to see how this translates live, as part of me fears an inactive audience. The other part of me sees a sausage fest of 20-30 somes pushing each other around in all friendliness. THExPROOF committed a hardcore cliché in “Culture of M.O.P.”: abruptly transitioning into the “floor toms breakdown” that usually erupts the “rain dance” within moshers (*ahem* Deathwish bands). But with that aside, I dig what I’m hearing. I’ll be looking out for their future endaevors – and their 7″ that will apparently be released by Headcount this fall.
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Check out THE PROOF’s songs on the band’s myspace.
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