Holy shit it’s a real update! Don’t be scared.

Here’s a little something from Virginia natives Unholy Thoughts. The Attic is out now via Forcefield Records. Check it.

1. Excess/Black & Red
2. Back in the Day
3. Tradition
4. Hell is Other People
5. Whiskey, Weed, Girls and Speed
6. Earthquake
7. The Attic
8. In Living Colour
9. I Can See You
10. Details
11. Sleep
12. The Situation

Richmond’s Unholy Thoughts somehow manage to bash through twelve tracks in a super tight twenty minutes on The Attic, taking no time at all in increasing the pace from the slow beginnings of “Excess/Black & Red” to the fast and indeed furious forceful assault found within the second half of the track. Unholy Thoughts come out swinging, their music containing sly nods to punk, hardcore and the lip-curling snarl of rock and fucking roll. Intriguingly minimal in execution, the music doesn’t seem as full and laden with a magnitude of different happenings – many bands that straddle these genres are wont to throw absolutely everything at you but Unholy Thoughts seem perfectly happy (well, as happy as you can be when you sound this pissed off) to give space to certain guitar parts, a neat little drum fill and a voice that drips with bile and a disgusting darkness. These elements come together to give Unholy Thoughts that little extra something, that this is a band with something to say and boy, are they getting that across.

Sharing members with more established acts such as Government Warning and Southside Stranglers, Unholy Thoughts could have tread a similar path to their peers and their other projects – whether they be current or ex – yet the voice here is distinctive. Whilst comparisons are due, they are unnecessary because this group have taken everything you love about hardcore and infused it with their own unique style. Aggressive swagger bursts through spat lyrics and the punk aesthetic seeps through every dirty pore. It feels relevant and Unholy Thoughts should be on your musical radar if snarling and antagonistic hardcore is your deal. And if it’s not? For shame.