Artist Black With Envy

Madison’s Black With Envy—formed by members of Malice In Wonderland and Triibe, among others—could be easily slapped with the old “rising from the ashes” backstory. Luckily, it sets itself apart from cliché by emerging with the soot still in place and music that mostly escapes the usual post-hardcore trappings. Blasting beats, chugging guitars, and guttural animal growls prevail, only intermittently thrown off course by some ineffective singing. But the mostly consistent intensity comes close to making insufferable acoustic warbling like “Till The End” from last year’s Becoming tolerable, which benefits from being surrounded by the relatively raw groundwork set by “Katy’s Song” and the title track.

Updated 06/24/2010