Don't be fooled by the near-Rorschach font on the back of this 7". Bite Down's Doomsday Machine has nothing to do with deathcore or much metal of the sort; it's nine songs of fast-paced anger as played by Belgians with a serious affinity for the American hardcore scene of the 1980s instead.

Though Bite Down aren't really pausing for many dance/mosh parts (save "Selfdestructive Cult" for sure), this reminds me of Warzone in some weird way. But there's also thrashier moments, like "Hate to See You Like This" and "Valedictory Address." Otherwise, between the excellently scratchy vocals and the quick, raw three-chord patterns, it sometimes makes me think of a really young CIV singing for a "Macho Insecurity"-esque Dead Kennedys. The slower, repulsed burn of closer "Born for Bad Luck," though, hints at something that could've been much, much greater if the band didn't call it quits some time after this release.

In any event, a definitively solid conclusion from Bite Down.

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Life Sentence
Tourist at a Trainwreck
Sinking Ships
Hate to See You Like This