maximum suffering

Maximum Hardcore: Erosion Unveil Their "Maximum Suffering" Album

maximum suffering

The report of Hydra Head’s death has been a (slight) exaggeration. In 2012, founder Aaron Turner stated the label would no longer release new material but continue to distribute previous works. Last year, Oxbow’s phenomenal Thin Black Duke finally found its way into the world via Hydra Head, and Turner mentioned he might be open to more releases on a “case-by-case basis.”

Enter Vancouver five-piece Erosion and their volatile brand of take-no-prisoner, world-crushing, crusty grind. Boasting three-fourths of Vancouver hardcore vets Baptists and Jamie Hooper (aka “the harsh vox dude from 3 Inches of Blood”) on vocals, Erosion sound unlike any of the members’ other bands and quickly set a savage precedent for anyone trying their hand at the d-beat game. Their upcoming full-length Maximum Suffering has a flow, but it’s more akin to Frankenstein falling down an endless flight of concrete stairs than anything else. Check out an exclusive full stream below.

From the opening title track into “Everything Is Fucked,” there’s more nihilism than all the Germans at a Lebowski Fest combined, courtesy of ugly riff flurries and Hooper’s unhinged, angry bellow. Song titles like “Need For Death,” “Human Error,” and “We Have Failed Us” add to the negativistic vibe that permeates the album, from the lurching powerviolence passages all the way through the incessant breakneck grindcore that hits like wave after wave of bricks to the face.

Of course, those seeking out the kind of furious noise that Erosion is steeped in tend to find beauty in the decay; there’s no shortage of that here. Maximum Suffering is an incredibly musical album, with guitarists Nick Yacyshyn and Rick O’Dell (Tobeatic, Hard Feelings) dialing in razor-sharp tones and deftly blending their tracks so the guitar frequently sounds as if it’s one monstrous force. Danny Marshall (drums) is a d-beat beast, and Andrew Drury (bass) lays down a sludgy, death metal-tinged base for Yacyshyn and O’Dell to jump off into the deep end. Hooper goes deep and stays there, channeling Oscar Garcia and Scott Carlson through a zombie-lung filter. There are brief moments of melody and groove — “The Crone” and its noise-rock leanings chief among them — but Maximum Suffering mostly aims for… well, it’s right there in the title. And by all accounts, Erosion hits those marks with a vengeance.

Maximum Suffering releases on Friday via Hydra Head Records.
erosion band

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