The Harder They Come

NYC. Responsible for some of the hardest and darkest music ever conceived, and they don't come much harder or darker then Denied. One look at the cover and one can immediately deduce the sound of this record, that's right, its tough, thugged out, immensely merciless beatdown hardcore, however, there is a small surprise awaiting in the opening track...you'll see what I mean.

No doubt the first word that comes to mind when drawing influences to this band is 'Bulldoze,' and certainly, that band are hugely influential on this EP. However, Denied were able to enter within the essence of Bulldoze without ripping them off. To elaborate, whilst to the casual ear, Denied will sound nothing more then a shameless copycat, those with a more refined listening capacity will hear that this isn't the case. Denied had a darker feel in their riffs, an almost doomy aesthetic that emphasized their heaviness and bought a weighty feel to their sound but also one that was emotive. To me Bulldoze are about pure aggression, Denied have this but I also feel there is much despair in their music, which makes it all the more crushing.

See what you think.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/18c597- Denied - Intro

http://www.sendspace.com/file/7x0qbz - Denied - Through Pain

http://www.sendspace.com/file/dogl6i - Denied - Together As None

http://www.sendspace.com/file/0m2s04 - Denied - Lies Upon Lies

http://www.sendspace.com/file/gf5ggp - Denied - Stand Strong

http://www.sendspace.com/file/69zinl - Denied - Drown In Sorrow

Some may find this interesting but this EP was released on Time Served records, none other then Kevone from Bulldoze's label. Sadly, Denied didn't release much more then this EP, which is now out of print, their other official material can be found on two splits, one was with the UK's BDF and came out on Filled With Hate a few years ago, which is actually also out of print. The other was the 'Step To The Plate,' compilation on Thornz records which featured 2 alternate cuts from this EP and 2 other songs.

The latter you can find here http://www.verydistro.com/search.aspx?typeofsearch=artist&keywords=denied.

For their other releases, I recommend http://www.ebay.com