BORN DEAD ICONS – Unlearn 7″

Reviews from Punk fanzines

BORN DEAD ICONS play ferocious MOTÖRHEAD/AMEBIX meet HIS HERO IS GONE crustcore. These guys are from Montreal, Canada. Unlearn is their new four-song EP, and it definitely retains the unique, heavy-yet-rocking style of the rest of their releases. One of the songs is an instrumental track. These four songs were recorded at the same time as their Ruins LP tracks. Yelled vocals, thick power chords, melodic riffs, heavy rocking guitars and moderate to fast beat combinations are what makes this band enjoyable. Lyrics on this record deal with ethics, retaliation, politics, burdens. BORN DEAD ICONS songs are well-written and truly epic, like songs written by the bands they’re influenced by. (MRR No. 242)

Four new menacing tracks of MOTÖRHEAD meets DISCHARGE worship from these Canadians once again. No change in formula here. Straight to the point two-chord riffs, grunted Lemmy-like vocals and a fast, precise d-beat carve out this bands approach. If you’ve heard their previous output, nothing much has changed. Change is over-rated. (SHORT, FAST + LOUD No. 10)

BORN DEAD ICONS gallop at full throttle like an iron horse racing through the cold, dark night. Eerie and sickly melodies blanket the gutter snarl of their two singers, all in fierce competition over the sonic deluge of BDI’s huge guitars, bass and drums. Cool effect in “Burden” and “Unlearn” that sounds like someone rolling across an AM dial with no luck finding a station. As far as BDI goes this is nothing new but certainly no step backwards either. Coincidentally they played here a few weeks ago and knocked everyones socks off with their unrelenting noise, making this record (much like the KNIFE FIGHT 7″ after seeing them live prior) a little harder to love at first sight. Still wondering what they sound like? Just listen. (EQUALIZING DISTORT, Issue 3, No. 10, Nov/Dec 2003).

Oh yeah, my favorite band is back with a round of new offerings. This 7″ has 4 songs of their trademark style of incredible pummeling hardcore played fast and with a frantic drumbeat and axe-grinding guitars. This band gives me goosebumps I like them so much. The tonation of their sound, the rage, the gallop, the gravel vocals – all of it is so perfect it manifests itself as a soundtrack for me. Crossing the Amebix and Motörhead if you don’t know already, but on speed. Fucking perfect!! (SLUG & LETTUCE #76)

What can I say? This Montreal based band has done it again with their new LP and 7″. This band is extremely tight, their dark, well written, thoughtful lyrics about the state of the world today are complemented by a more upbeat musical style than in their previous releases. A must-have. (PROFANE EXISTENCE No. 43)

Seriously fast, heavy hardcore punk with vocals that sound like Lemmy out of MOTÖRHEAD! 4 tracks of heavy riffs with elements of metal thrown in. B.D.I. come across as bleakness itself. A heavy wall of intense sound. The layout of the sleeve is simple with just the lyrics and contact address. Punishing. (REASON TO BELIEVE No. 10).

If I say the MOTÖRHEAD of hardcore, it doesn’t do this band justice, but that’s exactly what it sounds like, minus the solos and trimming the song length while still setting a definite tone and not shying away from slower, heavy breakdowns. It’s awesome (in the original sense, not the dude/brah sense) and amazingly cinematic. It’s almost impossible not to have something play and worm around in your head when the record spins. I picture bombed-out cathedrals, but that’s just me. I’ve always wondered what Lemmy and Co. would have sounded like if they were sliced in half, length-ways, and sewn into the sliced-in-half bodies of Negative Approach. I no longer have to. Rumor is, they’ve done all-TURBONEGRO sets and called themselves TURBOHOOKER, so they’ve got to have a sense of humor, too. (Todd, RAZORCAKE No. 17).