Set to Explode

Within the first few seconds of Set to Explode's self-titled EP, you should know exactly what you're in for. A few quick, distorted riffs, and you're given the intro of "Feel the Rage," the first track off a six-song effort whose songs hover around the one-minute mark and deliver Minor Threat-styled hardcore every second. It shouldn't be terribly surprising the band is based out of D.C. either, while their ex-members alum include 86 Mentality, the Goons, Worn Thin, and the Aftermath, with ex-Striking Distance vocalist Dave Byrd fronting the outfit.

While musically this is sure to please fans of Righteous Jams and the aforementioned, Byrd usually employs a more gravelly, garbled bark rather than a straightforward yell. Think Kill Your Idols' Andy West, but a bit more comprehensible in Byrd's case.

What seems to be holding the record back is the band's thus underdeveloped sense of modest anthem. Set to Explode are already writing songs with a raw base in place necessary to help shift focus to the message; expansion on the other parts would likely result in a more memorable record, however, and do wonders for them overall.

Not to disspell the band, Set to Explode are definitely channeling the earlier years of their hometown in a way many are likely to believe wasn't still possible (or in the least, still relevant).

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Feel the Rage
Set to Explode