Dead Swans

No, we're not talking about Stephen King's novel Sleepwalkers, which was adapted into a movie in 1992, we're talking about UK act Dead Swans' latest release on Bridge Nine Records, a label that features an impressive list of hardcore units, from Strike Anywhere to H2O and Paint It Black. Knowing that, figuring out what Sleepwalkers has to offer shouldn't be too difficult — if you expect to hear breakdowns, blistering punk rock drumming, battering guitar work and vocal cord rupturing screams, you're in the right ball park. While this album is no grand slam of hardcore music (it's a straightforward release), it's easily a ground-rule double that's going to get replay action for fans of the old two-step rhythm. This is an album that proves the old adage that the quickest way from point A to point B is a straight line.