‘Angry when questioned, The status quo examined, It worked for them, Not you and I’ (Time Is Up)

Deny The Future is the debut four-track 7-inch from Minneapolis’ Shatter.  Their sound is one that is coloured by both Japanese hardcore and metallic crust inspirations.  Yet it primarily draws on the, perhaps, less favoured aspects of those influences, before the band add a few deft twists of their own.  The riffage is lean, tightly inventive and underpinned by a d-beat inclined rhythm section that in partnership creates an impressive, surging velocity.

This fierce battery is largely devoid of all but melodic flares, such as the explosive opening to Time Is Up. However, the urgent, rhythmically rasping vocals are prepared to carry a melody with a relish more akin to the anthemic power of NWOBHM.  This is particularly evident on the contagiously soaring opener, Up To You, as it tackles the thin veneer of corporate greenwashing. But it is also notably evident across the balance of the tracks as they focus on the entrenched entitlement and social conservatism that still distort society to the concerns and whims of prejudice.  A thoroughly distinctive EP.