Murder Practice

The sophomore full-length from Murder Practice (not to be confused with Murder Weapon, the Martyr Records bands who featured members of Down to Nothing), Prophecies of Doom is an able, interesting blend of hardcore styles with an unsurprisingly political mind.

The pool drawn from here is pretty versatile. There's a pinch of NYHC crunch, a thrash-metal flair here and there (scope "The Big Easy"), D-beat nods and even tasteful hints of `90s metal/hardcore crossover ("Crooked Suit"). But never an overabundance of any of these. Even so, there isn't much space to breathe, aside from the miniature gaps in "Brain Drain" and its seamless transition into "Crushing Bones." Pummeling closer "Last Words" even has a bit of a doomy vibe for its finish.

There's a bizarre murkiness about the recording, which is solid enough otherwise. It's hard to say much else about Prophecies -- it's angry and short (nine cuts in 20 minutes) yet somewhat complex and comes up with a few effective jabs in the process. A lot of certain elements could be improved, from vocals to guitar tone, but it's definitely not a bad effort.

STREAM
House of Gluttony
Crooked Suit
Crushing Bones
Last Words