Introducing: Digicore
Posted: Wed 18 November 2009 15:55 by Dom Smith
Welcome to my first blog on Rock Radio. With each instalment I will write about some of the brightest starts on the dark alternative scene from around the country. My words will cover all kinds of weird and wonderful sounds within the vast goth, industrial and alternative brackets.
This week I want to shine the spotlight on Digicore – an up-and-coming cyberpunk band from York that collectively amalgamate furious electronic beats, chaotic vocals and chugging riffage within a defiant metal shell to create an intricate blend of dark-yet-danceable chaos.
Firing off with all of the rage and intensity of early Pitchshifter and mixing that in with the precision and impact of modern day Alec Empire, the ‘Core have managed to create a destructive digital hardcore beast that is unrelenting in its assault and always heavy-as-hell.
The group, made up of Danny Carnage (vocals), S-73 (guitar), 512MB (bass) and Cell on drums formed in 2006 and went on to win the nationally recognised Fibbers’ Battle Of The Bands competition held in the same year. Their hard-hitting electro-metal onslaught was celebrated by the indie-loving majority in attendance for being “passionate-yet-brutal”.
In the same year that they crashed onto the Yorkshire alternative scene, the band began recording a full-length album entitled ‘Synaptic Decay’ which was released in January 2007 to much critical acclaim before the band set off on an extensive national tour which saw them share stages with Sheffield’s now defunct prog-metal powerhouse The Mirimar Disaster alongside notable industrial behemoths Sheep on Drugs and many others.
For the better part of 2008, the band went into hibernation to create their follow-up disk which was to be titled Self-Armageddon. This period was a difficult one as various members formed side-projects and, as is the way with many creative people, other commitments slowed the recording process throughout the rest of the year and into 2009. After much speculation and uncertainty, the unit came back together citing a desire to create “pure sonic mayhem” as the main reason - I suppose that’s as good as any...
The initial material was scrapped and replaced with deeper, melodic tracks that share more in common with Nine Inch Nails and Stabbing Westward than the band’s obvious digital hardcore roots. On songs like Are You Happy Now? and Nothing Matters, the sound incorporates darker and much more personal lyrics than anything within Digicore’s back-catalogue – surely a reflection upon the difficult times that came before the album’s release. As a result this collection sounds particularly raw and menacing.
Self Armageddon was released in February and it caused a stir unlike anything the band had experienced before. Since its release countless new press and live opportunities are being offered and as such, the buzz both inside and outside of the Digicore camp has been re-ignited and the machine is alive again.
The band have recently released an EP called The End Of Days which sees them change direction once more as they draw from more drum and bass, gabber and crossover metal influences. The new material also features a full-throttle cover of The Dead Kennedys’ Too Drunk To F'k which I heartily advise you check out. Indeed, if you are a fan of anything from metalcore to punk via EBM, this stuff should appeal to you.
For fans of: Alec Empire, Dillinger Escape Plan, Pitchshifter
Download: ‘Too Drunk Too F'k’
Website: http://www.myspace.com/digicoremusic
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