Review / 200 Words Or Less
Backtrack
Deal With the Devil

6131 (2009) Jon E.

Backtrack – Deal With the Devil cover artwork
Backtrack – Deal With the Devil — 6131, 2009

This EP is fairly similar to another recent 6131 release from Bad Seed. This isn't a bad thing. This is a renaissance of sorts for heavy NYHC. Where Bad Seed seems to fail for most is that they don't exploit the grooves they can get into. On the other hand, Backtrack has yet to find a groove they don't like as they stomp through this EP. Once again brutality of sorts ensues but the breaks give the listener a nice breather and show how strong this band is as musicians. The solos that are used sparingly are really great and give a lift to the songs they appear on. This is a great short release of pissed older styled NYHC.

8.4 / 10Jon E. • December 10, 2009

Backtrack – Deal With the Devil cover artwork
Backtrack – Deal With the Devil — 6131, 2009

Related news

Backtrack announced the end, final tours

Posted in Splits on May 19, 2019

Life & Death Tour this summer

Posted in Tours on May 8, 2014

Comeback Kid on the road

Posted in Tours on January 11, 2014

Recently-posted album reviews

Burned Up Bled Dry

Next Stop… Dead Stop…
Prank (2026)

There’s no easing into Next Stop… Dead Stop… No buildup, no warning just impact. Fayetteville, Arkansas’ Burned Up Bled Dry return from decades of dormancy with a debut full-length that feels less like a comeback and more like a long-awaited detonation. Formed in 1996 and tied to that gnarlier mid-south hardcore lineage alongside bands like His Hero Is Gone and … Read more

Blue Ash

Dinner At Mr. Billy’s
Peppermint Records (2026)

Most people treat the Blue Ash story like a collection of "almosts" and they are sure missing the point.Almost famous, almost signed, almost the American Beatles. Forget that, erase that fable from your feeble grey matter. Dinner at Mr. Billy’s—straight from the Peppermint Productions vaults—proves they weren't just "lost" contenders. They were the engine room of the Rust Belt. While … Read more

Luxury Teeth

DCxPC Live & Dead, Vol. 3
DCxPC Live (2024)

There’s something inherently appealing about a record that doesn’t try to hide what a band actually sounds like. DCxPC Live & Dead, Vol. 3 captures Luxury Teeth in two very different settings and more importantly, shows that neither version feels like a compromise. Side A, the “Live” portion, was recorded at the Ottobar in Baltimore while opening for GBH, and … Read more