Playing Enemy

There’s no end to the chaos and frenzy that Seattle’s Playing Enemy were capable of. Within the five tracks that comprise My Life As The Villain, they managed to continually step-up their attack to the point where cohorts Today Is The Day might stare in awe. Knowing full well that dynamics are of the utmost importance, they continually shift and slither between demonic wails punctuated with static-laden guitars and melancholic transitions while keeping their inherent chugging pace. The end result is a formidable chunk of metallic hardcore that’s never quite straightforward enough to maintain consistency but it keeps listeners guessing as to the next step. Then again, it’s never so far out there that it becomes unlistenable. Spiky and obtuse, it’s a wonderful high-quality demo/post-mortem for a band that never saw its official release, having busted up before My Life As The Villain could even be properly recorded.