SLICES

One of the better hardcore bands to come out in the last few years is Pittsburgh's Slices. I had the pleasure of seeing them in Chicago while on tour with Acid Reflux in January of 2009. I picked up their first self-titled 7" that night and it's been on pretty constant rotation ever since.
16oh Records described the record as "Crossed Out playing the B-side of My War" which is a pretty good explanation of the sound. Fast and unrelenting, the three tracks of A-side are done in about the same amount of minutes. Opener "Nub City" is my favorite track on the record. The B-side is a 4 minute dirge through the songs "Cave Crawl" and "Bad Mask", the latter taking about 30 seconds.
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Their second self-titled 7" came out on Home Invasion Records and was recorded during the same session as the first. It starts out right where it's predecessor left off. "His Presence Lingers Long After He's Gone" is a slow segue to the next two songs on the A-side: "Hunting Accident" and "Migraine", clocking in at roughing a minute and a half combined. The B-side is two more longer jams: "Listless Yahweh" and "I Melt For No One". The entire record is comparable to the B-side of the first record in that it never really gets too fast and just kind of hangs out in a mid-tempo.
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Their latest release is the LP "Cruising" on Iron Lung Records. It's a departure from their previous releases in all aspects. The artwork, production and music are all different, to varying degrees. Instead of the typical black and white screenprinted covers, this records has a full color photo of the bands standing in front of some sort of luxury convertible in an industrial park. The production is slightly cleaner, but not in a horribly overproduced way. You're just able to hear every instrument individually now instead of them being one fuzzy noise, not that there's anything wrong with that. The music is a definite progression from the B-side of the first 7" through the Home Invasion 7" up to now. It has that same slow, lurching feel most of the time but now with a noise-rock edge to it. Hell, the A-side even ends with a complete noise track(John's Public Hell). The A-side is ripper for sure. Lead track "Medusa" starts the record off with an awesome mid-tempo rager going right into "Nightmare Man". An odd, almost poppy, riff starts the song off while a bass line that doesn't really match, but somehow fits, accompanies it. "Red Raft" is a 5 minute lurch, starting off with about two and a half minutes of drums and feedback, until the band finally kicks in. The side is closed out by the aforementioned "John's Public Hell". The B-side is where the record really comes together. "Floodlight" is an absolutely crushing song and where the album really starts to pick up. The album closing tag team of "Guide to Incest" and "Laughing While Eating" couldn't end it any better. The former is a ripper, similar to "Nub City" from the first record but even better. The latter is another slower song, but not taking too long or barraging the listener with an endless wave of feedback after the song is over. "Cruising" was probably my favorite record of 2010 and I couldn't be more excited at the news of them recording a new LP soon.
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Here are two live sets the band recently uploaded to their blog. Enjoy.
Live at Roboto Project:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TGXGWEYY

Live at Gooski's Bar and Grille:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YLQA74RI