Egos At The Door - Blankets of Denial

It's always nice to review a record by a band that really care about what they and from a label equally as energetic about the band. Egos At The Door, from Blackburn are such a band. This mad-cap punk four-piece released this album in March this year, through UK institution Lockjaw Records.

Egos At The Door are part of a very close knit scene and are always touring. They recently went across the pond for a massive US tour!

Tracklist:-

1. Calisthenics
2. 9-5 Ethics
3. My Car Is Thirsty, I'll Fight Cancer Tomorrow
4. Rumble In The Jungle. Horus vs Jesus
5. Joshua Barron Hated On Me Before It Was Cool
6. Threading
7. An Ode To Folly
8. It's All On You Kiddo
9. The Only Brown Bread That's White
10. Better Over Worse
11. Southpaw Claw

Egos At The Door don't align themselves to any particular genre, so you have no

idea what you're in for when Blankets of Denial kicks off. It starts with the intro track

Calisthenics, where they build up using some cool guitar melodies and skillful drumming. 9-5 Ethics begins straight off the back of Calisthenics and is pretty much a massive slab of math-punk, with some wicked jazz sections in it. The vocals are screamed in a hardcore vein and Egos use gang vocals too. The musical imagination here is what sets these guys apart though.

I like the fact the Egos let each song merge into the next; it keeps their momentum up and improves the listening experience. Egos switch between melodic riffs with pop-punk influences to abrasive math-core very well. They also manage to mix longer, more involved songs with shorter more punk inspired songs to keep things really varied.

The intro at the start of Rumble in The Jungle, Horus Vs Jesus is pretty head smashing. They manage to combine heavy guitar with more jazzy elements to make a sound well and truly of their own. My ears are also picking up some screamo influences in the guitars, but not mass-produced screamo, the decent stuff and also a bit of Billy Talent! It all adds up to a great listen and I'm only the fifth song!

My standout track on Blankets of Denial has to be An Ode To Folly. It's just utterly mental. From the jangly, improv-style guitar to the furiously screamed vocals, it all pretty much sums up what Egos are all about. The second half of the album seems to pass a bit quicker, with the songs being less experimental but no less awesome.

Egos rely more on their hardcore/punk side here, but still inject some great musical flourishes into songs like It's All On You Kiddo and The Only Brown Bread That's White.

The final two tracks, Better Over Worse and Southpaw Claw take this album to a heady crescendo, which leaves you battered and broken. Egos At The Door have really surprised me with this record. Hats off to them and Lockjaw for releasing such an intense and forward-thinking album. Awesome!

The track An Ode To Folly is streaming via the Lockjaw Records bandcamp page, so you can get yourself an idea of how good Egos At The Door sound:-


You can pick up Blankets of Denial vie the Lockjaw Records online store below:-
http://lockjawrecords.bigcartel.com/

Egos At The Door are on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/EgosAtTheDoor.