(((((OPENmind/SATURATEDbrain))))): HIVE MIND

Monday, 12 December 2016

HIVE MIND

Band: HIVE MIND

Genres: Punk / Hardcore / Screamo / Emo-violence / Skramz / Grind / Noise
Related artists: ?.
Country: Bloomington, Indiana USA
Years Active: 2015-present
Song: "An Ambiguous Utopia"
Album: "Demo"
Year: 2015
For fans of: Phoenix Bodies, Daughters, Mara'akate, Clancy Six, The Great Redneck Hope, .gif from god, Heisse, Hospital, Under A Sky So Blue, Love Lost But Not Forgotten, Makara, Oktober Skyline, Seyarse, Textbook Traitors, Usurp Synapse, Letters To Catalonia, and Discordance Axis aka PROPER SCREAMO.

Label(s): Zegema Beach Records / Friendly Otter Records
This post's artist is from the November 2016 Mix. This is track #3.

You can download: the December 2016 Mix#12 right here or get the new January 2017 Mix#1 here.

HIVE MIND are a four-piece grindy, screamy hardcore band from Bloomington, Indiana. We were first introduced while I was on the maiden voyage of мятеж during the second show in Bloomington and then the following day at Warp Zone Fest in Illinois. The band's abrasive style and lack of bass caught my attention from the get-go. The fusion of early Daughters, Phoenix Bodies and Discordance Axis is a lullaby to these ears, but is likely to perforate your eardrums unless you are accustomed to such venomous and unrelenting noise. Below you can hear my favourite tracks from the 2015 'Demo' cassette that I helped release on Zegema Beach Records along with my good friend Olin at Friendly Otter Records as well as all of the live videos I captured whilst on tour with HIVE MIND last year.

The 'Demo' begins with "An Ambiguous Utopia" as a static/noise intro that is met with pummeling drums, guitars and banshee screaming a mere 13 seconds in, and by 40 seconds they have transitioned to a massive and dirty breakdown hella reminiscent of one of my all-time Indiana faves, Phoenix Bodies. Excellently titled "Meat Hook" steps up next to let loose absolute fuckery that goes pretty batshit crazy after the 30-second mark and incorporates the closest thing to a metal influence on the 'Demo'. "The Duality of (un)Man" marks the middle of the EP and is my personal favourite, as it houses an absolutely unreal and destructive breakdown at 1:01 preceded by over 20 seconds of awesome buildups and teasing. "Time Cube" is the shortest track here at 47 seconds but manages to pack a fucking wallop, to say the least, with closer "Hyperdrive" following with a 59-second blast of caustic, angry and chaotic hardcore that sounds like emo-violence to me. The packaging of this release is also worth mentioning, as vocalist Cory Lamping created an awesome slip sleeve o-card with lyric shell. I don't really know what to call it, besides fantastic.

In 2017 HIVE MIND will be releasing a split EP with, barring any unforeseen changes, an unreal band that I can't divulge yet. So look out for that news because that will likely be one of the best splits of the year. In the meantime, if you are aching for more HIVE MIND (and you should be!) read their interview with IDIOTEQ right here.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2015 - Demo cassetteEP (stream/donate/download here) [buy cassette here]

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(2015) HIVE MIND - "The Duality of (un)Man" (from 'Demo')