There is little in this world that warms my heart more than to see a local, young band doing their stuff exactly the way it's supposed to be. Laying down hard work, and watch it pay off, carry you to great heights. Social Suicide have been doing just that, from mid-2008 through early 2009, they played along with big names on various festivals, released their first EP which was acknowledged widely, played bunches of shows everywhere, and started to slowly take shape as an important underground punk/post-hardcore band that gradually claimed the attention of the public. It definitely has been fun to watch, follow and listen eagerly to the transition from the somewhat grunge-inspired Evidence when they were very young, to City of Dead Unicorns, still young, which marked the start of their hardcore-career, and finally now, for the last couple of years, Social Suicide which has been the band's turning-point. Kansas City Shuffle sounded like a somewhat deliberate mix of JR Ewing and Norma Jean with a small bunch of their own punch to it. Guitarist Bjarte Haugland, only 16 years old (the youngest) at the time of release, showed potential in heaps and defined a style so riff-heavy which took me completely off-guard. I had never heard something quite like that, and backed by equally skilled musicians and an unusually intense 18-year old Sondre Haug on vocals made for the perfect combination. Nostalgia aside, next Monday is kill-time for Norway's hardcore-hope, as their first full-length Broken Pilgrims hit the shelves. Let me tell you this much, the expectations are high, and everyone, including yours truly, expect them to deliver.

Considering how extremely fond I became off their EP and single, this was bound to be good. They have altered their style a bit, since their EP-days at least, and are not afraid to think outside the box and add some slight metallic bits and pieces to their music. The production is downright excellent with the guitars sounding much heavier and thicker contra the jangly almost clean sound they've used earlier. The drums cut through the picture perfectly, and sounds rich and crushing. Vocalist Sondre Haug sounds even more raspier and powerful than earlier yet still a lot more balanced. Anyway, with Tommy Akerholdt of Silver behind the wheel, I guess a proper face-slapping was to be expected.

The chaotic intro of opener Mail From the Watchtower enters, and builds up into a climax of storming riffs conquered by a stunning, mountain-shaking intensity provided by the intense vocals. A heavy melodic stomp accompanies the staggering guitars, backed by a rock solid rhythm section. This is by far the heaviest sounding track of the album, and will warm any metal piece of a hardcore-heart. Death of New Kings continues rather chaotic, shaping a short, Converge-inspired tune, that ends in pure, delightful chaos before the mighty war-like intro of Harlots & Prophets kicks in. Haugland's rolling guitar-work is next to perfect, extremely tuneful and striking, and the breathtaking transitions that drummer Esteban Munoz backs up are just fantastic. Ivar Nikolaisen of Silver provides an extra punch with his powerful guest performance, making the song even more intense even if it's not of the fastest. Ironically, the following title-track could, at least the chorus, could've been dragged straight out of Silver s World Against World. The almost glam/punk-like influences caught me by surprise, and has at times been pretty hard to swallow. However, despite sounding a little thin, it's more likely to make you sing along than crap all over it as it is truly a damn good song, if not one of the highlights.

Martyricon, undoubtedly inspired by Satyricon is a mid-paced rocker, consisting of groovy riffs, and a rather tongue-in-cheek chorus that would make Satyr proud. It's another very strong track, where they manage to mix things up without overdoing anything, just shaping a nice heap of variety, a feat that isn't too easy to capture within the genre. The downright slow and viscous Fallen Angels may be hard to swallow. However, the sluggishly sludgy riffs mixed up with Haug's maybe best vocal performance on the entire album may turn out to be a favourite as it produces an extremely desperate and suffocating atmosphere that will squeeze every last bit of oxygen out of you.

For some reason, I find the “weakest” tracks of the album to be the two tunes we heard of the single that were released earlier this year. 5th Man on a Dead Mans Grave, re-mastered but not re-recorded and Let the Waves Come, which has been re-recorded and renovated for the occasion just doesn't quite live up to the brilliance of the other material that is found here. On the other hand, both songs are still great, and the fact that these two are my least favourite, which of course won't mean it's yours, should tell you something about the level of quality here. Weak spots are however more than forgettable when the ending trio, the astonishing, mighty, riff-driven monster Enemy Cave, the throat-grabbing Rodeo III and the fantastic closer The Last Martyrs finishes of an album that exceed every ounce of expectation I had.

If you're familiar with the genre, it's not to hard to find the boys' influences if you look closely. A pinch of San Diego-scene here, some Refused and JR Ewing there, a small yet powerful dose of Converge, and a little bit of Silver and some metal. The song-writing put on display here is stunning, the average age is about 20 and they completely outshines the entire Norwegian scene with Broken Pilgrims. I find it hard to believe that Social Suicide will be hidden from the public for much longer, as this is pure talent at it's best. It's not even necessary to mention potential, this is the best I've heard of Norwegian hardcore/post-hardcore since JR's Maelstrom, but oh wait, even that wasn't this cool. Highly recommended.