Blacklisters - Adult (2015)

Leeds based four piece Blacklisters come back with a noise filled thrill-ride of an album that is ‘Adult’. This release is a heavily aggressive hardcore mashup topped off with dark humour and brutal riffs for any distortion driven enthusiast.
Opening track ‘Shirts’ immediately provides the knowledge that this most certainly won’t be a melodic transformation, the searing riffs, screaming vocals and violent attitude sets up the rest of the album perfectly. ‘Cash Cow’ follows suit in more of a punk style, with shouts of “I’m on top of the world” in between the breakdown of drop tone bass and sharp drum skill before ending on a thrash-fest. ‘The Sadness of Axl Rose’ to the dismay of some doesn’t actually feature the GnR vocalist, what it does feature however is a quick paced installment of energy in what is arguably the heaviest song Blacklisters have recorded to date.
‘Big Ticker’ and ‘Weasel Bastard’ follow a more structured approach; longer built introductions both accompanying haunting heavy guitar tones and consistently flowing drum beats that later become a comprisal of incredibly impressive instrumentals well thought out by the band. Following the spoken tone of ‘Weasel Bastard’ is ‘I Knock Myself Out’, an incredibly repetitive yet impressive short two minute input of screams and harsh chords. ‘Dream Boat’ continues on from the previous track, once again sporting an elongated introduction only this time above what sounds like conversational vocal effects. Although no vocals are openly included it is still a brilliant addition to the ten track collection.
The Punk-Hardcore installment of ‘Power Ballad’ features some fantastic technical guitars among a wider range of vocals boasting of more darkness in the bands humour. Penultimate track ‘Priss’ happens to be the perfect soundtrack for smashing something up, the aggression from all of the band is outstanding and even provides a guitar solo before forcing itself into an epic breakdown, certainly one of the best tracks featured on ‘Adult’ without a doubt. The final feature ‘Downbeat’ finishes everything off on a dark note, the recurring droning sounds from both guitars and bass are a reminder of the brutality that has been witnessed throughout. Five minutes are dedicated to the song before moving onto an atmospheric three minute finale.
Blacklisters create a lot of noise for four people but if you’re a fan of hardcore then you will not be ashamed to admit it’s the best kind of noise. Aggression, tension, talent and twisted vibes, someone please show this to a Justin Bieber fan.