If modern civilization ever finally collapses under the weight of its own exhaustion, there’s a good chance it’ll sound something like Scrutiny’s latest EP, 3.
Distributed in April, 3 arrives like a much-needed release valve. Across seven tracks, the four-person outfit turns working-class frustration into a ripping frenzy of blast beats, driving basslines and dissonant guitar work.
Formed in 2020 through overlapping circles in the local music scene, Jacodie Big Mountain (vocals), Yari B. (guitar), Bren Medina (bass) and Chuck Fleisher (drums) have carved out something authentically their own. The cover art, largely pulled from anti-nuclear war ads found in a thrifted book, mirrors the band’s scorched earth philosophy toward hardcore itself.
“The goal is always to be more evil,” says Yari with a semblance of humor.
That nefarious musical intention is derived from more than just hardcore itself. Scrutiny’s influences stretch far beyond the genre’s boundaries. All four members are multi-instrumentalists involved in other projects, something that lends the band an elasticity beneath all the abrasion.
“I’m a real stubborn kind of contrary person,” says Big Mountain. “Whenever people are doing one thing a whole lot, I want to do the opposite. It’s better to stand out and put as much as your own character into it, rather than trying to follow a formula.”
Everything about Scrutiny’s stage presence affirms that. In the pit, bodies collide with enough force to leave bruises, and Big Mountain always looks seconds away from combusting as he spits out the words.
“We made the music with the intent to play it live,” says Yari. “Just constant mosh fuel ... bringing and expressing different forms of intensity.”
As the internet grows increasingly more obsessed with streams and algorithmic validation, Scrutiny seems more invested in real-life community. A year ago the band shared a bill with metallic hardcore legends All Out War, an experience that left them with a clearer sense of what longevity in heavy music can actually look like.
“We had a conversation with the vocalist of All Out War after and it was like talking to a friend,” says Fleisher. “There was no ‘I’m in a bigger band’ sort of ego’.”
A similar realization hit when the band crossed paths with hardcore veterans Negative Approach. The conversation drifted naturally into shared musical obsessions and influences outside the confines of hardcore itself.
“It was affirming to meet musicians who play crazy music similar to us,” says Yari. “But [they] also have heavy interest in other types of music because we were geeking about Parliament-Funkadelic.”
“It was like meeting an older version of us,” adds Big Mountain.
While the EP feels designed to leave dents in the floorboards, Bren points to “Watch You Burn” as the clearest distillation of the band’s ethos.
“Listen to as much as possible,” Big Mountain says. “Don’t take it for granted and you’ll find things you love and things that you don’t expect.”
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