Review: Entry ‘Detriment’

Entry are an LA quartet consisting of vocalist Sara G, guitarist Clayton Stevens, bass player Sean Sakamoto and drummer Chris Dwyer. Their full length debut Detriment will be released by Southern Lord on July 17th. Prior to this album the band had released a solitary 7″ titled No Relief on Dune Altar Records.

Entry 'Detriment'

Despite listening to hardcore punk for the past 20 years, I don’t tend to review a lot of it for the mighty Shaman, so factoring this in along with the Southern Lord connection, I thought this an opportunity not to be missed. The eye catching cover art helping to serve as confirmation that I was right to take on this album.

The album started off with Intro, a slow grind of hardcore metal sans vocals, setting you up for the slaughter to follow. Your Best Interest is the preview track for the album, of which a video has been made consisting of stills from both the album cover and various live shots, as well as some recorded live footage. According to Sara the track is in reference to ‘How people are treated unfairly by the legal system and are unable to receive effective assistance because they lack resources.’. In an age of lame ‘metalcore’ it was refreshing to finally hear hardcore played with so much passion and fury. Sara positively shredded on vocals, reminding me of Karl Buchner of Earth Crisis in parts.

Vulnerable lived up to its name; the track elucidated powerful emotions which were brilliantly backed by the relentless musical accompaniment. Among the band’s influences Discharge were mentioned, the short sharp attack of that band in their early 80s heyday, was given a contemporary twist here. Secondary at fifty two seconds long evoked the finest of crust punk, some definite nods to Disrupt and Dropdead. If you thought the preceding 2 numbers were quick you ain’t heard nothing yet. Blistering.

At nine tracks and just over fifteen minutes long, this is how hardcore can and should be performed…

Selective Empathy was one of the longer tracks on the record at two and a half minutes and brought to mind the dirty Motörhead vibes of label mates Wolfbrigade (who I had previously reviewed for the Shaman). The song allowed for some slower passages and really was the first time we’re offered a bit of a breather since Intro. These Feeling definitely evoked some early 80s hardcore spirit, parts of it reminded me of Minor Threat’s Filler which brought a smile to my face as that band, and Ian Mackaye, were a huge influence on me growing up.

Not Your Decision featured a lot of chunky slower riffage which recalled the works of the Boston Crew (Negative FX/Last Rites and SSD in particular) before some unexpected tempo changes ala Converge took the band back into the speed stratosphere. For me this was one of the finest moments on the album as it kept me on thorns waiting for the moment when the savage hardcore would kick back in.

Penultimate number Control continued in Wolfbrigade fashion before we reached the final track Demons and the longest at three minutes twenty two seconds. This was the sound of Sara certainly exorcising some and the slower pace allowed you time to wind down and reflect on this intense listening experience.

Entry aren’t the only hardcore band on Southern Lord but they’re certainly up there as one of the best. At nine tracks and just over fifteen minutes long, this is how hardcore can and should be performed, tipping the hat to the past while embracing the here and now.

If the likes of Ringworm and early Integrity get your motor running then check out this gem of an album.

Label: Southern Lord
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Twitter | Instagram

Scribed by: Reza Mills