It seems like there’s been a steady stream of great hardcore tunes of late, and Mindfield have another to add to the mix. “Violent Nature” premiered via Kerrang early this week, and comes as the first taste of the band’s upcoming self-titled EP. Formed in late 2015, Jacksonville based Mindfield are Nick Troupe (vocals), Robert Kotlinski (guitar), Trevor Bacon (drums), and Colby Bacon (bass).
From the artwork alone, it’s a bleak picture of futility, where the only escape is a path of obstacles. Bleakness and difficulty is echoed by the slamming and frenetic energy of “Violent Nature”‘s introduction, which rears up into an impassioned guitar solo (not something you’d expect to find in a song’s first 30 seconds). Stuttered and stomping, “Violent Nature” barely pauses for breath, with tandem voices and a wall of sound delivering something solid and unbending.
“They’ll never earn our trust”
It was around the 1:15 mark of “Violent Nature” that floored me though, where this brute force surprisingly surrendered into something more vulnerable. The instrumental tones (in particular bass) and the spaciousness of sound was a definite “wow” moment for me as a listener. The frayed edges were still present though, while a steady and contemplative mood gained strength and fire. As the track comes toward its end, gut wrenching vocals combine with riff steadiness; a last gasp of effort.
Though I don’t have the lyrics at hand, the drive for change is palpable. Mindfield explained the song thus: “”Violent Nature” is about fighting back against the tyrants of government because at the end of the day they are our enemy and do not care about us. All they care about is money in their pockets. We feel that a war is imminent between the people and the government.”
We dig it and also dig Mindfield’s approach, appreciating the unexpected sounds we found along the way. Mindfield EP releases on 20th September and can be digitally pre-ordered via Bandcamp. In the meantime, check out “Violent Nature”:
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