Anklebiter is a new hardcore band from the Northeastern part of the US that just dropped a kickass demo. The quartet features musicians from such groups as Broken Vow and Pummel.
"All of us had too many friends in common to not all cross paths at some point," Anklebiter drummer Nick Birtles told me via email about the new project. "We all wanted to do a band of this ilk and there was no better time than now so we made it happen."
When Nick says "a band of this ilk," this is what he means: "We’re fast straight edge hardcore punk in the vein of early Lockin Out Records discography. Mental, Righteous Jams, and RZL DZL our some of our favorite bands, but Anklebiter started with Evan [Stein] coping with never getting to see Result of Choice."
Recorded with producer Will Hirst (Restraining Order, Maniac), the Anklebiter demo features Rachael Braverman on lead vocals. "This release is my first ever attempt at lyricism," the singer said in an email to me. "It definitely has its issues, but I never thought I’d be able to do something like this until it was right in front of me.
"'Red Tones' was a track I wrote while I was freaking out. I was mad and seeing red, my brain felt like it wasn’t even there. 'Misplaced all inside my head/Things around me turn to red tones' came out of that and then I just built on how I felt from there.
"'Talk About Me' is super straightforward. People talk so big until confronted. I’m not scared of you, keep talking. 'Not for You' is moreso about my stupid minimum wage job I have to work and the older generations that tend to make my job harder. We were born into the world they created and blamed for it.
"'My Creator' is a song about a personal experience I went through about 6 years ago. I wrote the initial skeleton for this track lyrically in 2020, when I had an insane deja vu experience and experienced it again on the anniversary of the event. This is where 'Four years to the fucking number/I’ve lived this life a thousand times/It never gets number' came from."
With the demo out now, Anklebiter is going to be booking more gigs, which shouldn't be a tough thing to pull off in their regional scene. "The Northeast is really at the forefront of hardcore right now. From PA all the way up to Mass, there are so many really cool pockets filled with supportive scenes, good bands, and hard moshers. Everyone’s playing together and it’s awesome.
"There’s so many bands to check out but shoutout Adrienne, Ill Comm, Kidnapped, Wreckage, Combust, Reaching Out, and Snubnosed. There is nothing cooler than starting a band with your friends with the only goal being to have fun. Anklebiter will always be that band."
Sunday Drive Records has orders up now for the Anklebiter demo on cassette (along with shirts).
Hit up Anklebiter's Linktree for more info on the band and their upcoming shows.
***
Help Support What No Echo Does via Patreon:
***
Tagged: anklebiter
