Stigmatism - Ignorance In Power LP

Toxic State Records

"Cue Stigmatism’s Ignorance In Power, hardcore for the hardcore influenced by hardcore and for fans of hardcore. That’s yer lot sunshine, and much like being boldly informed that this, an 11-minute recording, is in fact a long-playing album, the prospective listener can either shape up or shit out. Co-released by Toxic State and Static Shock, Stigmatism are two New York dwellers and frontman Spoiler (Montreal via Belgium); Sasha Stroud also recorded this one and guitarist Jesse Lipper does another band, Anti-Machine, with Carla Wolff from Porvenir Oscuro. NYC is actually pretty small, you see.

“You’re a victim that howls through the pain,” Spoiler yaks on ‘Bow In Restraints’ – at 82 seconds, the record’s longest song – and you can probably take that as a loving nod to Agnostic Front and their downtown NYHC peers from before half of ‘em got mid-80s metal poisoning. The vocalist could do a fine job in a crossover thrash band if asked, I’m sure, but instead he and his two bandmates turn on the burners 13 times in a row and come correct with the thumb-numbing bass intros and slower, groovier mosh parts. As much as the overall vibe points to a very specific era and location, Ignorance In Power’s intensity had me thinking of Texan greats The Offenders more than a few times"

-Noel Gardner