When it comes to hardcore, my tastes skew to the NYHC of the 80’s and early 90’s as well as the likes of Black Flag from California. Over the past year, I have run across some hardcore bands that have really grabbed me, like the brilliant GEL, and made me dig deeper into the genre to see who else will grab me. Diced immediately clicked with me with bursts of rage and sneaky hooks across these 14 action packed minutes. Formed as a side band for some of the members in Tulsa, Oklahoma, they have struck gold, and we can debate if this is a demo or a ‘proper’ release. Either way, Diced has firmly planted themselves on my radar.

Starting with a track called ‘Intro’ does give an initial indication that this could be a rough sounding recording, but that is not the case at all. A spoken word sample gives way to a quickly building minute long track that immediately makes an impression. The mix is awesome and allows the instruments to clearly shine. Taylor’s vocals are filled with emotion and sit perfectly in the mix to give the track a live feel. The marching rhythm providing a seamless segway into second track ‘What Will You Do?’ where Brian’s guitar slices through the soul.  The album was apparently recorded as a 4 piece with a second guitarist joining after the recording was finished. This song serves up everything I could want in a hardcore song with the guitar providing part of the hook and is complimented with the rhythm section of Ryan (bass) and Nick (drums) providing another. The band tops this off with some vocal hooks as well, which come down to Taylor screaming them perfectly. The breakdown at the end finishes this perfect monster of a song. ‘Cut Your Teeth’ blasts through the speakers next and has a subtle switch over the back 40 seconds or so of the song that take it to another level.

‘Blank Stare’ essentially starts us on the flipside of the release and is another of my favorite songs here. The band give the song time to build and do not rush blindly into bludgeoning the listener. With three of the songs around three minutes in length, this allows them to build some dynamics within the song and separate them from many of their peers where a 14-minute runtime would equate to a full-length album. They manage it in five songs and an intro. ‘Drowning” is another of the longer tracks with a scream near the beginning recalling Sami from GEL. The lead guitar work here provides a lot of power to the song as it balances moshing, a full speed assault, and then a return to a moshfest portion to end the song. Final song ‘Disconnection’ allows Nick to get a spotlight on his drum work at the beginning of the song, and he adds some great pieces throughout the song as well which give it additional teeth. Taylor’s vocals remain harsh throughout the album with no super melodic choruses or hooks to be found. Her vocals work perfectly within the music and serve notice that ticking her off would not be in your best interest.

Many years ago (the 90’s), there was a band from Oklahoma called For Love Not Lisa who released an album I have always enjoyed called ‘Merge’ which borrowed from many genres including hardcore, and I cannot name too many other Oklahoma bands off the top of my head who fall into the hardcore genre. Diced have come together and delivered a memorable debut release that you likely could have already played through instead of reading what I have wrote here. Check this one out on Bandcamp and then help spread the word to get Diced on tour and playing near all of us in the future.

‘Demo?’ is available now.

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Author: Gerald Stansbury