Review
Geld
Beyond the Floor

When Aussie hardcore troupe Geld held a launch party for their previous album Perfect Textures two years ago they played, among other things, some cover songs from Hawkwind and Sick of it All. According to their label Iron Lung Records the band will have a digital launch of their brand new lp Beyond the Floor and cover songs this time round will span everything from industrial to indie. This should give you an idea of what kind of hardcore band we are dealing with here. For those of you that heard the debut, this is d-beat but not as we know it. It’s still a relentlessly paced hardcore blast and there is enough shit-kicking ferocity to make you yearn for the days of yore when we could still go to gigs. Ah, to be able to mosh to songs like "Trench" or "Invader". But it’s not all speed, Disclose worship and d-beat stomp, even though hardcore is very much the essential ingredient. The band isn’t afraid to slow down, throw in some squeaky feedback and other noise-rock elements to break up the pace. It slows the pulse down but attacks your mind instead.

I’ve been wracking my brain trying to find the best way to explain why Geld’s music stays with me. But I think it’s in the way it creates tension and the fact that it just sounds so unhinged and unsettling. It’s everywhere, in the buzzing, razor sharp riffs and the deranged vocals. And when I say it’s unsettling I mean that in the best possible way: unsettling in the kind of way black metal bands only wish they could be, but could never pull off.


You might have seen the ”psychedelic prog” epither mentioned to describe Geld. That is definitely there and it really shines through on songs like "Prisoner & Guard", the instrumental "Gedankenfleisch" and following song "Forces at Work". The band themselves have written that the weird parts are weirder on the second album and they weren’t lying. Just listen to album closer "L.O.W.A.G II" for proof.

Beyond the floor is top stuff and for those that want their hardcore just a little bit out of the box.