When I first discovered Incendiary on the first edition of MetalSucks' NYC Sucks sampler, their track "Victory in Defeat" instantly made them my new favorite hardcore band. They managed to add just the right amount of metallic crunch and heaviness to add to the ferocity of their hardcore attitude, while still retaining a definite identity as a NY Hardcore band. Incendiary's sound can best be at first described as satisfying: heavy as 1000 Mack trucks, and aggressive as a bloodthirsty lion on the Serengeti. Another good word would be, well…alive, in that they take hardcore and keep it vibrant, exciting, and fresh, rather than being just ripping off Madball or Death Threat like so many other bands do. So with that massive reservoir of support from me, I approached Cost of Living hoping that Incendiary would provide a solid, consistent hardcore record.
Like they did with Crusade, Incendiary opens with a trio of bangers with "Zeitgeist", "Primitive Rage", and "Power Process". When you hit play on this record, you will immediately notice a much stronger metal influence here, especially with the Slayer-esque riffs scattered throughout many songs. This has always been part of the band's sound, but on the band has let it out much more on Cost of Living than before. But no worries, Incendiary still delivers crushing, ferocious breakdowns like that on "Primitive Rage", as lead-man Brendan Garone belts out: "Forcing…a fucking…reckoning!!!" Garone's voice is an unique beast, perfectly suited for hardcore, and yet not overly derivative of his peers. If you've never heard any of their other material and need a frame of reference, the best way to describe Incendiary on this record would be a foundation of Down to Nothing and Strife, with a structure of Hatebreed and Integrity-style metallic hardcore built on top. Good deal, right?
One thing I found particularly impressive was the following set of lyrics from "Power Process",
Evolution doesn't mean
Forgetting what you've learned
Or where you've been
When it comes to earnest arguments against biological determinism, hardcore records are not usually the place I'd expect to find them. But there it is, as Garone screams out "But I'll never lose my morals, I'll never lose my faith". It's refreshing to hear a modern hardcore band talk about something other than "staying loyal to the scene" or "being true" (not that songs like those are bad, but after the 500th one, I think we get the point) and expressing a thoughtful urgency without also falling into the trap of artistic pretentiousness, a balance the band strikes very well through much of Cost of Living's tour of anger, bitterness, and vengeance.
With Cost of Living, Incendiary has crafted a massive improvement over their debut, in that they've made a solid, consistent metallic-hardcore album. Crusade has some awesome tracks, but tended to collapse under its own weight after the first few. As I've said many times, the ultimate test of a band's identity is that when you listen to them, you can tell them apart. And when I hear the thick, ferocious anger of NY hardcore propelled by an incredible weight of heavy grooves, I'm happy to know Incendiary is on.
8/10
Favorite Songs: "Primitive Rage", "Power Process", "Burnt Sacrifice", "Snake", "S.O.V"
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