There’s no prizes for deducing that MSRY aren’t the most content bunch around, but that can also be applied to the vast majority of British hardcore bands right now. Gallows’ picture of a grey Britain from almost a decade ago is just as applicable today, but the frontline of those taking a stand – both musically and otherwise – feels considerably stronger and wider-reaching, particularly when bands like MSRY are contributing so heavily to ground-level commotion.
That contingent mightn’t actually include MSRY just yet, mind, but if Safety First is anything to go by, there’ll be a new incendiary hardcore favourite doing the rounds before long. And yes, the proximity to other hardcore bands in terms of sound is incredibly easy to pick up on (the Cancer Bats influence is so front-and-centre that it’s barely worth picking up on), but for a very new band in a scene that’s already fit to burst, Safety First promises some good for very near future if they can keep this up.
It’s not as if MSRY’s acrimony for the current state of affairs seems to be letting up either. There’s a very breathless execution to this EP, both in the jagged riffs of the likes of Broken Teeth, and in Kial Churcher’s sandpaper bark as a tried-and-tested way of articulating the anger and misanthropy felt. It’s not as if it comes from nowhere either, as in what is perhaps the most direct and acerbic jab seen from a new hardcore band in some time, Freedom and Trump Card splice in quotes of Theresa May and Donald Trump respectively to fully hammer home the closeness of the situation, the former even being chopped and screwed to highlight the Tory subtext to benefit themselves above those who actually need the help. It’s frankly a startling move for a new band to make, both in its general sense of braveness and for how excellently it works as an overall statement; this is a band who clearly believe in what they’re selling, and the firepower they do it with is genuinely great.
That’s the main reason that MSRY come across as so promising already, for towing a similar line as numerous other hardcore bands but doing so with an uncensored level of anger and tangible frustration that’s rarely explored. Safety First mightn’t be perfect, but in setting the stage for a band who could go on to really blaze the trail in hardcore’s underground, few newcomers have displayed as much potential as this. With a sound that’s more of their own, MSRY could be capable of something truly special.
7/10
For fans of: Cancer Bats, Stick To Your Guns, While She Sleeps
Words by Luke Nuttall
‘Safety First’ by MSRY is released on 6th July.
