CHIMES OF BAYONETS-REPLICATOR LP

CHIMES OF BAYONETS-REPLICATOR LP

Yellow Vinyl w/Limited Stamp Sealed Plastic Slip Cover.

Official Release Date LEAP DAY FEB. 29TH 2024.

A pulsating and angular post hardcore punk ruction, REPLICATOR provides
eight highly effective doses of undulating darkly melodic medicament to soothe the uneasy mind. Alleviate your tension with higher levels of tension, a salted guitar gauze stuffed in the ear wound. Place on turntable and spin three times daily, Doctor's orders.

FFO of ARCWELDER, HOOVER, JAWBOX, PARTY OF HELICOPTERS, THE GREAT UNRAVELING, ANTIOCH ARROW, MAXIMILLION COBLY UOA.....

OFFICIAL RELEASE DATE LEAP DAY FEBRUARY 29TH 2024

REVIEWS:

COLLECTIVE-SCENE.CO.UK.
Chimes Of Bayonets have a few EPs out already, but this is their first LP. I can’t speak to those earlier releases, but this is some pretty great stuff: taut, dynamic post-hardcore that speaks to 90s heroes like Hoover and Kepone, as well as the excellent if largely unremarked likes of Sicbay, Check Engine, Halo Perfecto and Stop It!! who pursued the style into the early 2000s. Big, chunky riffs clunk and groove, giving way to nimbler, more fluid parts that occasionally incorporate piano and saxophone. Every once in a while a particularly wiggly moment gives off a slight Party Of Helicopters vibe, while the singer’s strained but not unappealing honk recalls a very precise midway point between Fugazi’s ‘Long Division’ and ‘Heroes’ by Kerosene 454. All of these things are, if you ask me, definite points in their favour – check out tracks like ‘Channel Marker’ and ‘Cracked Igniter’ and see if you agree.

HANGINGHEX.BLOGSPOT.COM
Chimes Of Bayonets arrive with their first full length after a couple of 7”s. The trio have been playing together, some in other bands with each other, for many years and that familiar playing style is represented in full here with a sort of rough and tumble math rock that if you’re old and obscure like me you’ll hear hints of stuff as wide-ranging (yet very cool) as Forstella Ford, Atombombpocketknife, and Kerosene 454. Oh yeah, and it also comes in this fancy package with a screened clear slipcase thing so it looks extra cool.

RAZORCAKE MAGAZINE:
Ithaca, N.Y. trio that drags a plowshare through that early ’90s post-punk sound to good effect. What bands come to mind here, you might ask? I’m glad you spoke up! Holy Rollers, Bluetip, and even a dash of Severin pops into my head. The guitars weave, the bass throbs, and the drums pound. “Cracked Igniter” wails for over five minutes, and that’s one of many highlights. By the time the band asks, “Who Wants to Die for Art?” I’m right there with them. But maybe just a few bruises to start.

RAZORCAKE MAGAZINE:
Take Circus Lupus, Volcano Suns, Slint, and Shellac and toss them into a blender and you get Chimes Of Bayonets. The sound is big and chunky with drums that pummel in a measured manner instead of raining down hell on your head. The guitar meanders and soars while the bass lurches and pushes. At times the whole package settles into a pensive moment and then snaps back into building and climbing over massive structures of sound. They really come alive on songs like “Channel Marker” and “The Fallout of Grammer.” It’s here they really lean into their songs and hit harder than on the others. Also, that piano on “The Fallout of Grammer” is a nice touch. All this is housed in a cover with spot gloss, a plastic printed slip cover, and pressed on white vinyl. Also, I need to acknowledge the clever usage of the band name to designate the A and B sides of this album.

YELLOWGREENRED BLOG:
The packaging for Replicator is artsy and probably a pain to put together, as the standard LP jacket is surrounded by a screened plastic sleeve, sealed in traditional ’90s emo fashion with an actual postage stamp. It hearkens to a time when putting out your record was more or less the dominant form of communication available towards the rest of the hardcore scene, so you gave it your all, the opposite of today’s hermetic design (you’d be surprised at how many albums come through here with absolutely zero words on the covers or sleeves, knowing fully well they’ll only ever be purchased on Bandcamp). Anyway, good for Chimes Of Bayonets for caring about what they’re doing, though the music they’re offering up here doesn’t elevate the twisty, stop-start form of ’90s post-hardcore emo so much as simply keeping it going. That’s not to say it’s bad – had Chimes Of Bayonets earned a spot on an Ebullition or Revelation compilation in 1996, I’d have heartily enjoyed it – but nothing particularly new or noteworthy is being brought with the form, even if some of the jagged rock riffs recall The Party Of Helicopters (one of my personal faves). Like most styles of rock music, often the singer can carry (or sink) the group, and the vocals here are just kind of there, an appropriate post-Fugazi shout-sing that neither offends nor grabs the ear. Seems like they’re a dedicated group, clearly passionate about their band, so maybe that passion is already translating to their live performance, or will result in more interesting sonic territory on their next recording.

SCENE POINT BLANK.COM
New York based three piece, Chimes Of Bayonets, released their first album, Replicator, in February of this year after a string of EP's dating back to 2018. There comes a point in most bands career that warrants the need for an album over an EP. It's a way to really showcase themselves and give the fans something substantial to sink their teeth into and Replicator certainly fits the bill. It is also worth noting that rather just lumping their EP's together, which seems to happen a lot these days, Replicator is 8 new tracks, with the exception of "Human Mascot" which was featured on their live EP Zero Three Zero Seven. Only this version has had time to be refined and studio recorded making it sound a lot cleaner than the live version.

Replicator is 35 minutes of technically skilled post punk/hardcore that takes you through a range of emotions with bursts of fast paced angst interspersed with moments of calm and tranquillity, sometimes within one track. Stand out tracks for me are the newly recorded, fresh faced version of "Human Mascot" and the more chilled offering "Channel Marker". When I say chilled it is loosely termed as the tempo has a more steady, ska chill to it with a more melodic vocal line than others and champions a punchy bass line. For fans of bands such as Refused, Fugazi, Jawbox and maybe a little Propagandhi these guys are for you. Their experimental style means they cant be completely pigeon holed but you can hear these influences especially in the vocals. "The Fall of Grammer" is a great chuggy punk number with a hint of piano, and final track "Index" proves to be an epic end to an album they have every right to be proud of.

I have only recently been introduced to Chimes Of Bayonets, by doing this review and they have impressed me. They have an interesting sound and because they are so talented at their instruments the technical creativity makes you sit up and listen as you are never too sure where a song is going to go. Their artwork for Replicator and their other EP's are quite edgy and Avant Garde, they have a knack of being fairly standard by using band photos but also interesting at the same time. Whilst I was checking out their socials I did notice something a little odd. Their profile picture is far too familiar for my liking. Now this is not a criticism but more of an observation and I really hope it's just a well meaning tribute but it's a blatant copy of Rocket From The Crypt Group Sounds album cover and I cannot be the first person to notice this.

In conclusion Replicator is a great addition to their back catalogue and well worth checking out. Check out their Bandcamp page and maybe hop over to facebook if nothing else then to just check out the profile pic.