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Released on February 26, 2016 via Deathwish Inc.
Death Index certainly seemed sudden in its emergence, however not surprising considering its creators’ background. Carson Cox, better known for providing his emotionally sailing vocals for Merchandise, is no stranger to cacophonous hardcore and punk as his involvement in Church Whip would suggest. Matched with this is the contributions of Marco Rapisarda, again highly active in the Italian hardcore scene. His project Archaic is the most notable of his various bands whose sound certainly bleeds into what Death Index offers. The inception was birthed from Rapisarda’s plan for a sound and Cox’s vocals being just the ticket; the result being a raw punk record with Cox’s unmistakeable tones, coming out of the US’s most well respected hardcore labels. All this considered, this project makes perfect sense, and it’s about time that Cox’s distinguished vocals were paired with something far heavier in sound and in ideas.
As soon as ‘Fast Money Kill’ kicks in, the project makes itself clear. No frills hardcore punk with flurries of guitar and drums that batter and bruise, suffocated perfectly by feedback and thus providing the post-punk aesthetic that ties it all together. Cox’s vocals are nothing short of sensual despite the punch of the music; crooning over such demanding instrumentation sounds like it fits and contrasts all at the same time. Considering the albums forging was spontaneous in almost every sense, these opening tracks are evidence of a truly solid punk record.
Tracks like ‘The Meal’ allow for a change in pace that Cox is maybe more accustomed to in recent work, the marching drum and riff work provide a uniform pace for Cox’s vocal performance to glide, at times, quite beautifully over the instrumentation. A quick reminder of Death Index’s harsher sound is then laid bare once more in perhaps one of the rawest tracks on the record; ‘Fuori Controllo’ accelerates at a rate of nots as guitar spasms and reverb shudders.
It’s tracks like ‘Lost Bodies’ that quenches the thirst of those who want Cox’s vocals to be the fore front of the track. His moans and utterances over the pulsing synth and drone sounds perfectly in place, but more importantly displays a truly diverse vocalist whose capable to fit beautiful low melodies over both rip roaring punk barrages and sonic dirges.
‘Patto Con Dio’ plays the record out, slow once more, but puts an emphasis on the gloom that harkens to post-punk’s signature aspects. The steady drum beat is dragged by the noise slathered guitars whilst Cox gives my favourite vocal on the entire record. His vocals swell and shake as he confesses numbness in a downtrodden world, before the drones set in to shut out the light.
Death Index keep things short and sweet on this project, a factor that will intrigue as what the collaborations future potential maybe. But for now the band have produced a punk record that shows influence where it should yet provides diversity that is usually missed on modern records like this. A fuzzed out, noise soaked punk gem that satisfies time and time again.
