False Flags are a band out of Leeds, UK that play a mixture of what could be equally labelled hardcore, mathcore, and/or metalcore. Their EP, Hexmachince, is 6 focused blasts of what made all of those genres fun to begin with. Add these chaps to your follow list, cuz we will be seeing them again in the future.
My initial reaction from the opening of the album was to draw obvious comparisons to Norma Jean. This track in particular has a similar feel and structure mixed with the very emotive impact of the melodies and vox. These vocals have a bit of a post-hardcore flavor that combine approaches of both old schoolers like Fugazi/Quicksand and newer, more aggressive acts like Converge. Big, meaty chords are interspersed with dozens of fun little hooks. It's all pretty catchy.
To draw another parallel, "Pet Wolf" and "Namedropper" almost sound like (almighty) Botch songs. The latter song's simplistic, but effective, main riff hits you like a 2x4 to the back with that 3:4 time signature cranking up the immediacy. The result is mathy, but more grounded in the rock and groove of Helmet then the complex jazz influence of Dillinger Escape Plan. And god forbid I let the great drum presence go amiss. These are loud and make full use of the kit. Enjoy the very infectious patterns happening on "Phone my Wallet" and "Earl Black." Bass-cymbal-snare rolls reign only to be further punctuated by adding some toms.
Really, everything on this EP had me bobbing my head and tapping along. It's a solid effort, and make sure to stick around for the second half. As strong as the first track is, things don't truly kick into high gear for me until the last 3 songs. Hexmachine comes out today. Find it on bandcamp about $6 digital and in various other formats. We'll be back for an LP, False Flags.