Back in the early 90s, hardcore diversified. Bands like Earth Crisis, Snapcase, Suicidal Tendencies and Biohazard blurred (or obliterated) the lines between punk and metal. Those bands (and others) created some of the greatest loud music of all time. And Cutthroat seems to agree, cranking out one hardcore/thrash fever blister after another.

Cutthroat Fear by Design (Demons Run Amok)

As if that wasn't enough, Billy Graziadei of Biohazard produced, and maybe that pushed the knobs a bit more into the metal camp. I won't go that far, though. This is full of punk attitude and awareness, a big wad of crunch completely free of bloat.

All of these songs come in under four minutes, and many are shorter than three. Cutthroat makes its mark and drops the mic. Again, this is fat-free metalcore, written and performed for maximum impact.

After saying all that, its also quite fair to say that Cutthroat does not move this sounds forward. I would totally believe that this was recorded in 1993. It is so alive and electric, though, that I'm hellbent on finding a good pit for stomping.

Jon Worley