Yeah, that’s right. I went and I did it now. My hardcore roots have been revealed. You should be flattered by my honesty. I am not that guy who is 20 and says the first disc he ever bought was of Celtic Frost or Carcass. I’m not the 18 year old clown that claims that any real metal-head has to own all the complete Iron Maiden discography. I’m not the guy who has a brand new Ride the Lightning shirt. And I’m certainly not the guy who claims Black Sabbath is the root of all things metal. What does that mean to you? It means I took a seemingly ass-backwards way to find death metal and that I have little time for death metal elitist mentalities. In 8th and 9th grades, I listened (and still do) to a bevy of NY and Long Island hardcore before I eventually searched for the most extreme forms of metal. I have to keep it real and stay deep in the streets.

The reason I chose to review this disc is because it has the ability to be a favorite to most people in the overall underground scene. Neglect had ended their career in 1995 after four years only to return this past summer. In addition, I wanted to dispel any notions that anything that is not death metal that emerges from Long Island is sappy, soft, and laden with clean vocals. Neglect’s appeal is twofold. Firstly, the music is simple, metallic hardcore that is angry, pestilent, and anything deemed "hate-core" (this band does not have any racist overtones - simply refers to a hatred for life) has to be interesting. Secondly, the lyrical content appeals and applies to most people who listen to any type of underground music. This theory is banking on the fact that most underground dwellers aren’t affluent, work quite hard to make a living, think outside the "box", and are, for the most part, disenchanted by the workings of society.

Neglect, as I said before, is no-frills metallic hardcore with plenty of obese power chords, made even fatter by a prominent bass. The songs vary from slow and dreary to fast and typically hardcore. Neglect has a sound that is quite unique and quite far from both sides of the spectrum of hardcore and metalcore. Neglect’s songs vary too much and to be considered straight hardcore and Neglect has the ability to add a metallic edge without adding Hatebreed style metalcore breakdowns. What you are left with is a consistent barrage of chunky power chords, driving drums, and violent vocals. The drums merely keep the beat but they are well played and the drummer throws in a few interesting fills now and then. The vocals are loud and burly, the kind of angry regular guy vocals that fit the music so well. And the vocals fit so well because of the lyrical content. Songs delve into the nihilistic realm of suicide, agnosticism, manual labor, depression, death, and failure. For most bands, I could not care about lyrics. But these are the types of ideas that people wrestle with everyday and to hear someone out them to words, quite frankly I might add, is spectacular. The power is in the realism. This is not some distant rich kid screaming about broken hearts and straight-edge nights. It’s a guy, like you and me, stating the truth and how much life can suck. Lyrics from "…working real hard / working up a sweat / dealing with it / manual labor" (from "Manual Labor"), "I’m not wasting my life / my life is wasting me" (from "Dig It"), and the continuous chant of "fuck life" really seem to hit home (the song "Fuck Life" is a gem and should be listened to by all - the chorus is quite simple - its just "fuck life" over and over again). Just examine the song titles and you will get a good idea of what this disc is all about. And before you know it, you’ll have a couple of songs that hit home and you’ll be singing right along. This combined with the throaty vocals and dreary riffs create and aura of depression that most doom bands can only wish for.

Neglect is one of the few bands that I have known that were able to create the complete musical package. The lyrics are dreary and depressing and the music goes right along with it. This music will hit you hard but not like good death metal bands who run your ass over with a steamroller. Listening to Neglect is like being run over repeatedly with a Huffy bike, a most slow and painful death. A note to all readers: I am not trying to slip this by as some form of death metal. It is metallic hardcore in its original form, not the nonsense that uses the same name today. I am merely trying to bring to light an obscure band that would appeal to those who are more open minded. On this $10 disc, you get most of the band’s recordings from the early 90’s. It is a worthy choice for those who would like to hear something different without straying too far from home. Everyone who listens to metal should have this! Just kidding, I’m not that guy. Hardcore for the bitter!

Written By: Double Ds