Deep Sleep - Manic Euphoria

Deep Sleep - Manic Euphoria
Grave Mistake Records

When I was first getting into punk rock, the first hardcore song ever played for me on a mixtape was "Filler" by Minor Threat. When I was in sixth grade I wasn't quite sure what to make of it, and it was different from most of the punk that I had been exposed to at the time. But I knew that I liked it. And as the years have gone by, I still find myself drawn to hardcore bands that are more like Minor Threat - straddling that line between punk rock and hardcore, as opposed to a lot of my friends who came up on heavier New York hardcore, or bands that straddled the metal/hardcore line.

Deep Sleep is one of the bands that I've always been a bit more intrigued in. There's a fine line between punk and hardcore that is blurred through these four songs, and it's a band that I'm excited to hear more from. "Curbside Breakdown" brings these guys raging out of the gates, and serves as a solid introduction. It makes sense that they're labelmates with Cloak/Dagger as the Black Flag inspired guitar lines weave through the songs, not totally overdriven, but fuzzed out, particularly in "I'm On Top." So, in less than two minutes, they've killed the first two songs with screamy, half sung vocals that fit the fuzzed out hardcore punk.

"Nothing Left" is even faster, and is the shortest song of the record. The "now it's too late" ending is a nice change from the straight ahead pace of the rest of the song. Crossing the two minute mark is "Textbook Timebomb" which has my favorite guitar work of the record, with really melodic elements, and a catchy chorus. The bridge gives an airy feel to the guitar work, and shows that they can really deviate from the straightforward style they demonstrate throughout the record, and do it well. This is definitely a standout track, and you should go listen to it on their Myspace right now, then buy this record, and pretty much everything else Grave Mistake has put out. Yup, it's that good.