Braindead "No Consequences"

"Wait. What? This isn't right."

And so began my first listen to Braindead and their full-length debut, No Consequences. Having thought that this was a new record from those endearing Chinese punk rockers in Brain Failure, I was quickly surprised (and humbled, as I apparently don't know it all [sarcasm]) to hear a diverse brand of in-your-face, melodic hardcore.

Braindead. Brain Drill. Brain Failure. Brain Dead. Honestly, can you expect me to keep them all straight, all the time? (To be fair, I think it's at least a little obvious which one of those is the brutal death metal band.) The band at hand is Braindead – one word, one capital letter. And the band at hand is really good, taking vocal and songwriting cues from the likes of bands from Count Me Out to Kid Dynamite, and making them their own with varied combinations of dark, melodic guitar parts, slower tempos and a lush bass presence. While the heart and soul of No Consequences is familiar, melodic hardcore and throaty, shouted vocals, Braindead fashions a masterful ebb and flow through ambitious (and awesome) instrumentals – opener "ATI" establishes that direction in 36 quick seconds, "Dear Alison" expands on it for three minutes and forty seconds right in the middle of the record, and "A Wake for a Dream" literally blows it out as the song progresses from expansive instrumental to surprisingly climactic, pounding, static-y noise.

Braindead shows just the right amount of ambition and poise on No Consequences; they've got one collective foot rooted in hardcore's traditions, and the other in unexpectedly musical and dynamic territory. My initial impression was a false, knee-jerk feeling that something wasn't right. But when all was said and done, it had made a squealing 180-degree turn.

"Yes, this is right. Very, very right."

Braindead - So Single

Grab your copy here.