Hardcore is usually a mean, fearsome genre, but the Providence band Peace Test push hardcore to its mean, fearsome extremes. Peace Test’s songs are extremely fast and short, rarely lasting much longer than one minute. But Peace Test don’t really belong to the world of powerviolence, hardcore’s warped and damaged cousin. Instead, Peace Test work more in the classic Negative Approach mode, just bashing out their elemental riffs with as much dizzy speed and aggression as they can muster. And like Negative Approach, they always sound like they’re about ready to bite your head off.
Peace Test were already an important underground band when they released their grimy 2020 debut EP Uniform Repression. Today, Peace Test follow that album with their first full-length Pry. “Full-length” might not be exactly the right term here, since Pry blasts through 14 songs in almost exactly 14 minutes. But there’s definitely a full LP’s worth of ferocity in this record. Stream it below.
Pry is out now on To Live A Lie Records.
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