EXPIRE ‘Grim Rhythm’

Review by Nick Shore | Smutlife

Quick, put down the stack of Trapped Under Ice and Reign Supreme vinyl. It’s tough, I know, but don’t worry, because there just might be something better lurking out there in the depths of Midwestern hardcore. Rising with blinding speed from Milwaukee, Wisconsin comes Expire, armed with roaring vocals and just enough heavy riffage to blow out the speakers in your 1996 Chevy Cavalier.

After a successful demo lush with thumping percussion and crushing breaks, Expire delivers Grim Rhythm on California’s Hellfish Records (Creatures, Rot in Hell, The Mistake, etc.) With high energy performances at this summer’s wildly popular Sound and Fury and This is Hardcore festivals, people from coast to coast are learning about this Midwestern juggernaut. While they still make use of the usual hardcore rhythms and beats, there’s a particularly infectious quality hidden throughout this record which isn’t experienced nearly as often as it should be. Read more