Stop Breathing - V [Burning Tree Records/Rotten To The Core - 2015]Burning Tree Records & Rotten To The Core Records presents the fifth release by Oxnard unit Stop Breathing. Available on both digital and vinyl formats, the appropriately titled V, offers 12 tracks of adrenaline pumping hardcore/punk that culls a lot from the old, while bringing in a little of the new, to craft an album that is refreshingly straightforward. The Oxnard, CA scene was a breeding ground to such legendary acts as: Aggression, Ill Repute, Stalag 13, and Dr. Know. By no means a throw back, it’s hard to deny that there’s some of the aforementioned bands’ sound to be found in Stop Breathing’s DNA. That said, Stop Breathing has their own respectable pedigree, featuring members of such bands as: Glass & Ashes, Young Livers, The Fucking Wrath, and the Missing 23rd Over the span of 12 tracks I was pretty much able to check off everything I love in a good hardcore record: short songs, group chants, pissed off finger pointing parts, good build ups, thick bass lines, fast guitar parts, and gruff shouted vocals; all played with a lot of heart. Even the numerous guitar solos sound pretty gnarly, without devolving into indulgent wankery. Circle pit inducing? Most definitely. Some standout tracks include “So Now,” “I Can’t Stop,” “Sing Along,” and “More of the Same.”
At a time when hardcore has become so entwined with metal, trying to be more and more extreme (for better or worse), I’m glad to see bands like Stop Breathing still paying homage to the old stuff without sounding like a carbon copy.
   Hal Harmon
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