DRONES FOR QUEENS - Practically Weapons
May 12, 2015, 8 years ago
(Riff Lifter Media)
Oh man, I like the vibe here, the curious, bass-heavy production making the grind sound totally suffocating in a way that brings to mind Circle Of Dead Children or something even more hardcore and less metallic, a feeling that the decidedly non-Cookie Monster vocals back up. But the ex-members list (Woe, Woods Of Ypres) show there is definitely some metal chops at play here, even if the guitar work makes me think of discordant hardcore like Drive Like Jehu, a totally inappropriate comment mainly brought on by the fact that these two bands are separated by only one other in my iTunes.
But there's a sliver of reason to my ravings, Drones For Queens (don't like the name, hard to say, hard to remember) tossing down d-beat and grinding crust like the pros, but also laying down weird guitar work (see the title track) and a general fun antagonistic vibe that is very punk rock. End result is confusing and puzzling and extremely awesome. Works great for a 10-minute EP, and I'll definitely see what they pull out of their hats for a full-length.
