REVIEW: SPLIT - PARASITIC SKIES / LOSING SKIN

North Carolina’s Headfirst! Records were one of my first ten followers on Twitter (@MisterGrowl). My followership has since DOUBLED, as Mister Growl prepares to challenge Ashton for the Twitter throne. (Update: 1 follower left this morning. Back down to 19. OH GAWD LIFE IS MEANINGLESS.) I checked out a few of their releases and wanted to cover this split release from Parasitic Skies and Losing Skin, two formidably quarrelsome hardcore bands who have never met a mosh pit that was too rowdy.

Formed in Seattle, WA, Parasitic Skies launch into a metallic hardcore attack in “The Void” before closing with swampy sludge riffs. The vocals are reminiscent of Dwid Hellion’s work with Integrity, if they were dipped in tar and raised in the wild by black bears. “The Throat of the Sleeping Sun” is a meaty slab of chugging hardcore punk with crusty flourishes and a groovy bass line that knows there is a voice inside your brain whispering “headbang headbang headbang” and amplifies that voice to the point you can’t ignore it. Also, if you didn’t think spelling mattered, just think if the last word in that song title was “son.”

Losing Skin are basically Parasitic Skies’ neighbors, both in proximity (hailing from Spokane, WA) and sound. You could picture them both sharing a civil, vegan family meal before they put this split album on a record player and the whole feast is immediately obliterated in a vicious circle pit. “Depressor” starts with a mean-spirited riff that plows through Seasons in the Abyss territory before falling off a cliff into an ocean of bass feedback and droning room tones. “Time Crawling By Me” feels like crust punk on tranquilizers, lumbering a bit before some really nasty blackened guitar licks close out the song. The bonus track for digital downloads is “Destroyer’s Crown,” a song with attitude and swagger that tricks you into thinking it’s metalcore before going for your nearest major artery with thrash-by-way-of-Darkthrone riffs that demand the sacrifice of your favorite relative.

Go check out Headfirst! Records and listen to their releases, all available for free downloads. Find out more information on upcoming releases and keep an eye on their roster of talent, there’s some seriously aggressive music hatching over there.

Listen to the Parasitic Skies / Losing Skin split album here: http://headfirstrecords.bandcamp.com/album/hf-09-parasitic-skies-losing-skin-split-7in-2

And check out Headfirst! records over here: http://www.page63.com/

Oh yeah, and follow Headfirst! over on Twitter @HeadfirstRecs