SWORN ENEMY
AS REAL AS IT GETS

NO NAME/ELEKTRA
LINKS:

swornenemynyc.com

nonamemusic.com

stillbornrecords.com

Oh man, do I love my NYHC, and here’s a five-piece from Queens that encapsulates all the mental anguish and internalized brutality of life here in the five boroughs.

The heavy rumbling of Mike Could’ bass combined with the double bass pummeling of Paulie Antignani’s drums is an almost by-the-book blueprint of classic NYHC.
. Guitarists Lorenzo Antonucci and Mike Raffinello carry the rhythm and melody with a combination of glorious duggah-duggah distortion and clean compressed metal-thrash-inspired flailing fretwork. As a unit, they’re tight and tough. Add to this the Raven-esque (as in the movie The Exorcist, not the ‘80s band) vocal assault of Sal Enemy, who spins out his angst in venomous lyrics, and you’ve got the recipe for hardcore urban musical warfare straight from NY’s outer boroughs.

Recorded at Planet 2 Recordings in Hadley, MA and produced by Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta and the ambiguously monikered Zeuss, Sworn Enemy have managed to capture in digital format what they so lovingly term “Queens Murder Musik”. From the title track and first single “Sworn Enemy” to the awesomely vengeful “As Real As It Gets” right on through to the groovin’ “Days Past” and the dynamic “These Tears”, this disc captures their rage and spits it back in your face. This one has now been permanently spot-welded into my cd player.

----Christine Natanael