Bands come and bands go. Some burn out without even making a ripple; others stand the test of time, line-up changes and beauracracy to become revered across genres. Integrity are one of those revered bands. They’ve been busy this year; with a recent European tour in support of new LP Suicide Black Snake. They’ve recently 2014, with the Systems Overload line-up and have just released a new version of that seminal album with a new mix and master. In their own words “it’s how they’ve always wanted it to sound”. Members Aaron Melnick and Robert Orr remixed this version of Systems Overload from the original master tapes. It was originally released as an exclusive vinyl for Record Store Day 2013, but has since been made more widely available by Organized Crime Records.
A note to mention is that the promo I’ve used for this review features the original track-list and is missing the track ‘Unveiled Tomorrows’, which appears on the B-side of this version of Systems Overload.
Opening track ‘Incarnate 365’ features the chugging, thick guitar intro that metallic hardcore used to hold in high esteem, before leading to some simple yet crushing hardcore. No One steamrolls it’s way through forty-seconds of sheer violence, while the title track features mid-paced sludgy swagger. The title track is similarly intense, with Dwid’s rasping screams sounding even more powerful.
After the in-your-face assault of those initial three tracks, Integrity show another musical string to their bow with ‘Armenian Persecution’. The great melodies played by the lead sound brilliant with the new production and the Eastern influence in the song, give it an unexpected edge. Their menacing undertones in songs like ‘Grace Of The Unholy’ bring to mind forgotten times within US hardcore. Times when bands like Undying and Strife were setting the scene alight, and along with Integrity, were making it dangerous and exciting. With this latest iteration of Systems Overload, you get a greater sense of their live sound. Full of bilious energy, yet still shrouded in a veil of mystery when in recorded form.
‘Mediator’, which closes the A-side, is one of the most furious songs on Systems Overload. Dwid and the rest of band are always in complete control and the focus of the band, even during their early records in plain to see. You can certainly see why this album is held in such high regards amongst Integrity fans. Their grooves and subtle melodies during ‘Salvations Malevolence’, along with the low and almost whispered vocals, add further layers to their darkened sound. If you’ve listened to Integrity related bands like Roses Never Fade and Oede, you’ll know what I mean!
After ‘Salvations Malevolence’ fades away it’s back to the shorter formula for the final four songs. The guitar work of Frank Novinec and Aaron Melnick set Integrity apart.
They careen through ‘Fading Away’ and ‘Jimson Isolation’, before weaving some great instrumental textures into ‘The Screams’, which is at times strangely disconcerting.
‘Search For Divinity’ ends things with their experimental song writing and delivery in full flow. The new production has bought crushing life to Systems Overload and reaffirmed Integrity’s reputation as a searing, seething entity.
For a band as prolific as Integrity, each time someone writes about them it gets harder to think of things to say that haven’t already been said. Sometime it’s better to just sit back and let others do the talking. I’m not going to re-write the rulebook here or come up with some big epiphany about the band. Their history speaks for itself, as does their present.
9/10
James Wiliams