For the majority of their career, Barcode has been an underground band. In Europe they're relatively well known, but for the most part in the States, aren't known well at all. With the bands fourth full length album "Showdown", I am sure that this will skyrocket their popularity in the States and will without a doubt be on a lot of today's hottest tours (i.e. Ozzfest, Sounds of the Underground, etc.) For the most part, I'm not a fan of hardcore music, but Barcode's style suits my liking. The music is brutal and aggressive, along with vocals that hit you in the chest like a heart attack.
The sixteen track "Showdown" embodies what the band has wanted to sound like for so long. Through trial and error-pretty much replacing every band member, the band has come full circle and sounds better than what I'm sure they even thought they could. The tightness and clarity of these tracks made a sub par record with potential into an amazing album with more potential than you can shake a stick at. Every instrument is magnificently played and the delivery of those sounds is even more impressive. A lot of that can be attributed to Dr. J, the band's guitar player whom produced the album (he's also the frontman for death metal act HateSphere).
The band is very appreciative as can be heard on the opening track. "Shots Out" is a 30 second track where the band thanks some specific people and an overall shout out to those who have supported the band over the years. The following track "Rise to Dignity" is one of my favorites. Throaty vocals with some amazing drumming and heavy metal guitar riffs made this stand out in my mind. The album's self titled song "Showdown" is one of the most "hardcore" tracks on the album. This is the band's best overall sound and would probably be considered as a single. Through "Rise to Dignity" to "Aggressive Grim Filthy" there's a constant assault of hardcore goodness and I was loving every minute of it!! The final song on the album is "I'm a Rebel". Every time I hear this song, I scratch my head. While the music is still in the vein of the hardcore genre, the choruses are almost sing along capable and sounds like a party song. I don't know if I like it or not, but I can't really complain considering how much I dug the rest of the album. Do yourself a favor, read up on Barcode and be cool by being the first one on your block to know about this truly talented and truly amazing band from Denmark.
