All of a sudden, I'm discovering these bands left and right that are reviving a rather classic sort of gothic hardcore punk, but bringing it howling into the Armageddon twilight of the early 21st century with a heavier, burlier attitude. Lost Tribe are one such band who alongside Deathcharge and Cross Stitched Eyes are playing some of the coolest deathrock-influenced hardcore out there right now, and all of 'em have been dominating my stereo lately. Lost Tribe from Richmond, VA is the latest of these bands, and their self-titled Lp on Blind Prophet is a rager. It's all black-on-black gloom and cemetery ambiance hanging over the propulsive, cavernous punk that's obviously influenced by the likes of Sisters Of Mercy, Christian Death and UK Decay as much as Rudimentary Peni and Discharge. The album opener "Fading Into The Fog" is borderline anthemic, with an understated but effective use of synthesizer adding additional grey textures to the hooky, driving hardcore. That synth is used to add a number of different sounds to Lost Tribe's batcave-tinged hardcore, ranging from washes of warm Wurlitzer-like buzz to liturgical organ sounds to weird spacey effects. Their guitarist spins lots of vintage-sounding leads over the driving punk, with a biting guitar tone and reverb-drenched sound that reminds me of Christian Death quite a bit, always a cool sound to mine when you're playing this kind of stuff. The song "White Noise" is another highly catchy song on this Lp, buzzing with shades of metallic crunch amid some wild backing Hammond organ sounds, and it's followed by the furious pulse of "Vexed" and the almost Black Flag-meets-deathrock power of "Gunk". Some slower dirgier songs appear such as the instrumental "Interlude", and the killer haunted house lurch of "Forever", giving the album a variety of tempos while keeping it dark and ominous throughout. This is some of the catchiest music that I�ve heard out of that current deathrock/crust crop, and most of this record is quite effective at burrowing into your head with it's ominous hooks. You'll want to check these guys out if you're a fan of that new Deathcharge Lp from 2011, the vibe is a familiar one, though Lost Tribe take it in a more classic punk direction...

Issued in a limited edition of five hundred copies, in a black jacket with black spot-varnish printing with a printed lyric insert.