Employed To Serve’s trajectory to-date has been explosive. Two bedroom-crafted EP’s (released by Jay Randall from Agoraphobic Nosebleed on Grindcore Karaoke) preceded last years full-band EP, ‘Change Nothing, Regret Everything’ which also marked the beginning of their relationship with Holy Roar Records. Embroiling a DIY approach and work ethic, they have now played 100 gigs throughout Europe, in just over a year. Recorded and mixed by Lewis Johns (Gnarwolves, Funeral For A Friend, Rolo Tomassi) and mastered by Brad Boatright (Sunn o))), Converge, Integrity) this collection of tracks was placed in safe hands.
This confident, cohesive and colossal sounding album of technical hardcore features the recurring theme of self-worth and apathy for life, a theme that was present in their previous release. It also focuses on tragic personalities encountered in day-to-day life. They’ve honed their shards of mosh-detonation, such as the (early) Norma Jean/Every Time I Die styling’s of ‘Threads’ and ‘No One’s Perfect...’, whilst also displaying expansive, cinematic tendencies in tracks such as ‘Bones To Break’ and ‘As Cold As The Rest’, tracks that indicate that this band could go anywhere.
ETS exist in a time where too many bands prioritise style over substance, clichéd choruses over creative thinking, spout nonsense to appease, make t-shirts before they’ve played a single gig, expect everything on a plate, and bastardise musical genres from before they were born. ETS are the antidote.