Black Breath has played some well received shows here in NYC over the past few years with the last being a show at The Charleston last June. The band released their debut 12" EP, Razor to Oblivion, in 2008 (on their own Hot Mass Records label) and have recently signed to Southern Lord who has reissued the band's debut EP on CD.

This 4-track EP clocks in around the 15 minute mark and it is a solid slab of hardcore punk. There are immediate comparisons to 80's punk bands like Discharge, Minor Threat and early Poison Idea but Black Breath blends this all together with a solid metal overlay which brings in elements of Motorhead, Venom and Entombed. The disc hits with an immediate angry intensity as guitarists Zach "F. Funds" Muljat and Eric Wallace kick off the disc ("Razor to Oblivion") with some shredding riffs which is followed by N. MacAdams' raw, hardcore bark and some d-beat pounding drums. There are all the elements of classic hardcore on this EP which range from breakdowns ("Fatal Error") to violence inciting thrash ("Beneath the Crust") to chugging groove metal ("Murder"). Aside for the brevity of the disc, there is not a thing to complain about.

Black Breath have a full-length coming up early next year (also on Southern Lord) that was recorded in June 2009 with Kurt Ballou (of Converge) at GodCity studios. "A much darker beast than previous efforts, the record features equal regiments of Swedish death metal, American heavy metal and sheer blasphemy. Their roadshow will hit the pavement in 2010."

Links:
Black Breath's MySpace Profile