Hello, My Name Is... Madness

After proving with their debut EP that they could make music sound like crap on purpose, New Yorkers Seizure Crypt decided to tidy up, play together in time and (mostly) in tune, and show what they could do with a more "professional" sounding selection of tracks for their second release, 2007's Hello, My Name Is...Madness. Don't be fooled, now: the overall vibe is still raw as sushi and the production earthy and honest (otherwise known as analog, oh you children of the 21st century), but there's now enough audio separation to let the band's musicianship shine through, and for their lyrics to be understood. As for the musical direction, most songs, like "The Great Defector," "Thankless," "Inhuman Nature," and "Euology" remain focused on familiar speedcore, but others, like "Enigma" and "Herein Lies the Problem," step off the gas pedal to indulge in some serious dirges. Meanwhile, "The Deadend" sees Seizure Crypt sounding like the Beastie Boys jamming with Biohazard and, on the album standout, "Where the Bodies are Buried," penning their best song yet, with lyrics inspired by one bandmember's job as an ambulance-riding EMS worker. In short, Seizure Crypt has weathered lineup changes and no real record company support to speak of, to hone what used to constitute terminal nerve damage into rather inspired underground punk and metal -- who would have thought it could be so?