With help from bands like Knocked Loose and their iconic “Arf Arf” calling card, Hardcore is more widespread than ever - making the excitement and demand for aggressive, in-your-face lyrics and intense, drone-like riffs through the roof for heavy music fans. If you’ve been in this community for a while, you’ll know just how much the sound and the scene have changed and still continue to do so, making newer bands in this genre super exciting for us to “lock” onto to see what happens next. If you’re looking for the next big name to come out of Hardcore, look no further than LOCKED SHUT.
For fans of Turnstile, SPEED, DRAIN, and Knocked Loose, LOCKED SHUT’s newest LP release, THE NEW CHAOS, is exactly the kind of vibe we’ve been waiting for. With vocals reminiscent of thrown’s Marcus Lundqvist and Sam Carter, this LP brings 8 tracks of pure unbridled and untamed energy that will have you screaming along by your second listen.
This LP’s sound can be described as driving and cohesive through each of the 8 tracks as the vocalist, Alex Kelly, changes the way that he communicates within each song in order to hype up or bring his point across to the listener. Whether it be through playing with tone throughout the song or including things like call-and-response, doubling for emphasis, and even falling out of his scream into a bit of clean tone to draw the listener in at the end of a sentence, his vocals keep the lyrics interesting to the ear. The instrumentation does this as well, by switching between thick, chunky riffs to shreddy guitar solos, or by simply creating space for emphasis – all of which do an amazing job of keeping the listener engaged and excited for the following part of the song.
If you’ve ever known a toxic person and remember how exhausting they are to be around, then you also may fall in love with my personal favorite track on the LP, “Jinx”. The song starts off with a heavy and rhythmic riff that is the epitome of “pissed off” and leads into some lines that perfectly describe the feeling of knowing that someone will never change because of their continued behavior and excuses. The song ends with the same driving beat that keeps the momentum going throughout the entire song, seamlessly leading into the next track.
Whether you’re new to Hardcore or a longtime fan, THE NEW CHAOS is a must-listen in your heavy music rotation. With hard-hitting tracks like “TROUBLE MAKER” along with the attention they’ve already gained from their latest release, “TOOTHACHE”, it’s no wonder that LOCKED SHUT has already gained a following in the US and UK. They’ve also garnered support from Idobi, Kerrang Radio, Revolver Magazine.
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