I'm kind of jaded on heavy music and I don't like nostalgia that much, but I really like the demo by Sacred Followers even though it is labeled as “90s hardcore” by the band members. They sound like what would happen if Converge was influenced more by powerviolence than metal. There are some incredibly ignorant breakdowns on this record, but they are textured with blast beats, copious amounts of feedback, and the kind of ugly, distorted bass tone you'd find on a record by Crossed Out, Despise You, or one of those other bands that put out 7”s with bleak black and white pictures of genocide in foreign countries. Unlike Converge, there is no filler in any of these songs, only one goes over the two minute mark. The music is angry, erratic in tempo, and to the point while never hinting of any kind of intended minimalism in its composition. There's one thing that I am uncertain whether or not it's a downside: I cannot understand what the vocalist is saying at all. He sounds angry and that's cool, but I'd probably be upset if I read the lyrics and found the writing to be really anemic like most hardcore music. I can make out the words “liquid sky” on the song “Liquid Sky” and that's pretty brutal sounding. I imagine he's singing about the effects of nuclear war rather than the atmosphere of Jupiter or something.
Anyway, this demo is really good. I must emphasize how ignorant the breakdowns are. I've Youtubed footage of 90s hardcore bands playing in the 90s and people didn't seem to get ignorant back then, maybe due to the nature of what was considered politically correct or some other sociological factor. I don't know for sure because I was in elementary school at the time. But I do know that people get ignorant at shows in the 21st century. If Sacred Followers is sincere about being “90s Hardcore”, they may be the renaissance festival of the genre: a band that pays homage to a historical period in a fun way while ignoring the unfun historical realities. Listen to the demo. See this band live. Mosh. The 90s are dead, long live the 90s.
