Northeast powerhouse Missing Link is about to unleash their debut album “Watch Me Bleed” on Triple B records.
Formed during the COVID lockdown & featuring some of the creams of the crop members of Internal Bleeding, Pain Of Truth, Recon, and Blood Runs Cold just to name a few.
The band’s first release 2020’s “My Time on the Cross” EP quickly caught the attention of the hardcore underground. Following it up with some touring & notable shows the band released 2022’s “No Saving Grace” EP. Which saw the band focus on their NY style of brutality & become even harder & create some of the best mosh riffs of that year.
Now signed to the titan that is Triple B the band released their first full-length album & their heaviest material to date.
Opening with “Pillar Of Salt” ft. Bruce Lepage (ex 100 Demons / Eyes Of The Lord” this track has Missing Link’s M.O. all over. Heavy chugging & fantastic groove sections while vocalist Mike Ryan’s perfect growl turns the aggression up another notch. Lepage’s vocals are legendary, the perfect icing on the cake to close this ass-beater of a first track.
The album’s first single & following track “New York Minute” really harnesses that catchy element ML does so well. This one has that classic-era Biohazard vibe. With a huge chorus, this one is an earworm you’ll be singing to yourself quickly. Closing out with one of the first nose-breaking pit parts on the album this track will be a live staple for the band for sure.
“Glory or Death” is a superb track that has a ludicrously hardback & forth between vocalist Ryan & guitarist Chris Mcarthy. Both vocals are different but give the track this great dynamic. The track underneath is straight-up punishment & has a great old Hatebreed vibe to it but ML again adds that little groove element, a great two-step section & an inventive pattern breakdown. In & out with one, simple but dropping those interesting elements that keep your attention the whole track.
My favourite track on the album is “I Want To Kill You (Pt. 2)”.
It feels like Dying Fetus & Suffocation had a baby with Merauder & Irate. Blast Beats, death metal vocal sections but with a big chorus section this track has it all. And I believe it to be the heaviest breakdown of the album. It might only be a few bars but damn it’s like a bulldozer. This one gonna be carnage live.
The album’s closing track “Genuflect” shows the band’s true potential. Missing Link isn’t your run-of-the-mill hardcore/beatdown band. With the roster of musicians within the group & their calibre of musicianship, this track shows that they are capable of breaking out of the norm.
Featuring a stunning bridge section with vocalist Eloise Chamber & leaning hard into the ethereal sound. Filling me with the haunting tracks of say Crowbar this track is truly a stand-out for the group & the best track they have written to date.
Somewhat riding that line of agony & bliss this track is something more bands need to take note of & experiment with as it heavily pays off here.
Every few years a band comes out of the blue & releases a phenomenal debut & Missing Link is that band of 2024. “Watch Me Bleed” is just the best when it comes to heavy but their songwriting & diversity of their writing allow the band to be instantly recognisable & have a ridiculously great sound right from the bat. This album is going to shake up what we know about hardcore & will last the test of time.
Review: Joseph Mitchell
Preorder Watch Me Bleed through Triple B Records.
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