Paint It Black kind of burst back onto the scene the last two years. It had been 15 years since their last full-length, New Lexicon, and now we get Famine, which came out last fall. And “burst” was a word a chose purposely, because this record is fast and loud. Just as important, when it’s playing, you can’t ignore it. Paint It Black’s intensity commands your attention. It’s primarily angry music, but there are also forlorn and forsaken emotions that give it needed balance and humanity. There are 8 songs here and the record plays fast, probably about 20 minutes, but I won’t call it short. There is a lot of density in these songs, with and lyrical choices that recall images of biblical plight to modern war and devastation. The final result itself is devastating too.
There are blunt, pummeling songs like the title track “Famine” and its follow-up, “Dominion,” which show off Dan Yemin’s punishing growl atop punchy riffs and some pick-me-up breakdowns; plus urgent singalongs in “Safe” and “Serf City, U.S.A.”; and even some minimalist hardcore with “Exploitation Period,” which lets a slow bass rumble and Yemin’s shouts carry the emotional punch instead of those fierce beats we associate with the genre. This song really proves how Paint It Black distinguishes themselves from their peers, as it has the same energy and emotion of fast hardcore but strips it to the basics. Sure, we all turn to the aforementioned short, fast, and loud because those genre tropes work. But hardcore is really about heart and purpose and Paint It Black has that in abundance. Famine, the record, is worth the wait.
