Endless Struggle

Knock 'Em Dead are a hardcore/metal band from Miami; Endless Struggle is their debut CD. The music they make is a brooding combination of Judge, Terror, Killing Time, Sick of It All, Full Blown Chaos, etc., etc. They don't bring anything exceptional or original to the table, but hardcore is a pretty thoroughly defined genre at this point, like the blues -- in fact, it is the blues for young men with tattoos on their necks. Track titles like "Killing Hope," "Never Forget," "Welcome to My World," "Anger," and "Pain" tell the story -- these are songs about the pain of being a muscled-up dude who's, like, sensitive and stuff. Actually listening to the downtuned guitar riffs, sledgehammer drums, and growl/roar/squeal vocals is almost unnecessary. But snark aside, for a moment anyhow, Endless Struggle deserves to be heard because it's good, not because it's innovative or surprising. Fans of Hatebreed buy each new Hatebreed album not because they're expecting to be blown out of their socks by the band's sudden transformation into a jazz fusion act, but because the crunching riffs and mosh pit-ready breakdowns provide the sweaty catharsis they and their bros are after. If they play their cards right, Knock 'Em Dead could quite easily find themselves in a similar position, delivering knuckle-dragging, prognathous-brow-flexing hardcore/metal, half an hour's worth at a time, every year or two for the foreseeable future.