COMEBACK KID: Heavy Steps (HARDCORE): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

It's been twenty years since the Canadians of Comeback Kids have been unleashing their ferocious hardcore punk. Still led by the duo Neufeld-Hibert, they are back with a seventh album, "Heavy Steps". Since the previous album, the band has gained visibility by signing with Nuclear Blast, even if this may have been surprising considering the mostly metallic catalog of the German label. This being said, this signature didn't change anything to the ardour and the rage of the Canadians.

Considering the cover and the tracks (11 in 32 minutes), it's easy to guess that "Heavy Steps" won't see Comeback Kid softening up. Pure concentrate of raw energy, the record runs at full speed and hardly lets the listener breathe. The album includes two categories of tracks. The first one makes a wind mixing hardcore and punk. 'Heavy Steps', 'Face The Fire', 'Everything Relates' or 'In-Between' and 'Standstill' are energetic and brutal, made to devastate everything in concert, delivering good simple and direct melodies with unifying choruses on which Andrew bawls like a damned.

Comeback Kid also likes to remind us that they can play tracks that don't leave us unscathed, such as the explosive and raging 'No Easy Way Out', 'Dead On The Fence' and 'Shadow Of Doubt' in which we can hear Slayer and Hatebreed. Finally the band had the excellent idea to invite Joe Duplantier from Gojira on 'Crossed' for a Dantesque result. Between hardcore and death metal, the title is an uppercut with an impressive speed side.

With "Heavy Steps", Comeback Kid signs a high quality record. The Canadian band confirms a certain talent to mix punk and hardcore with a federative side that should find its audience in concert. - Official website

COMEBACK KID

HEAVY STEPS

NUCLEAR BLAST

HARDCORE