For some time, Providence's underground sub-cultural has been dominated by two ruling aesthetics; the psychedelic, ear piercing bleeps, drones and laser spitfire of contemporary noise (think Forcefield, Mindflayer, Mark Lord) and the angry, jet black, endurance testing blast beats of punk hardcore metal (think Dropdead). This is most evident inside Providence's "Armageddon Records", a wonderful punk/metal/DIY record store that subtly has visual references to the summer of love in the form of Brian Chippendale posters around its militaristic black and white t-shirts advertising crust punk bands.
The connecting thread of these two genres is arguably nihilism and volume, although that loaded philosophy is interpreted positively (an act like Providence's Lightning Bolt) or negatively (an act like Providence's Arab on Radar) by the cities inhabitants. If not nihilism, at the least a rejection to the vast majority of industry standards that hold back a large portion of musicians. To put it simply, most bands from Providence aren't interested in getting radio play, and are more interested in feeling music by loudly vibrating it onto the audience's chests during live shows.
Providence's In Heat is, I am assuming, relatively new to the scene and beautifully mix these two genres into music that makes perfect sense. They are a harsh psychedelic noise band with a classic metal core drum bass duo. Shrieking golem vocals are sprinkled on top of this intriguing, converging of genres. It compliments it well.
According to the band's Bandcamp, this particular cassette is not their newest, and it is amply titled "Demo 2". It feels like a demo. The volumes of the players don't vibrate, sway or crescendo. The release doesn't feel mixed, although I don't mean to imply that certain elements are hard to make out.
A clear vision is being presented on this release, but it is evident that In Heat is just getting started with their presents on the scene. Hopefully this band will stay together, because if this is a Demo, the real release is going to be something special. And not just for the band themselves, but for a landmark DIY city that, while small, continues to evolve and break new ground.
Bandcamp website:
http://inheatri666.bandcamp.com/
The cassette is available online here or go see them at a show around New England or America or whatever.
--Jack Turnbull
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