I know I am not the only one that has been waiting what seems a lifetime for Bayonet to release something since they announced their existence.  I was immediately excited when I heard earlier this year that members of bands like Senses Fail and The Banner had joined forces to create a hardcore band of sorts.  Well wait no more, Bayonet just dropped a self titled EP, a first taste have you, and I am loving what I am hearing.

The New Jersey hardcore act features Senses Fail’s Buddy Nielsen behind the mic, The Banner’s Jeremy Comitas, Suburban Scum’s Paul Klein and Fit For An Autopsy’s Will Putneyalls. Having already supplied a taste of what they were all about on their MySpace page, the EP features five hardcore songs that range from a minute to three. Nielsen seems to just lose himself through out on the EP dropped on Mightier Than Sword Records.

“I really wish I was better than this” is screamed by Nielsen towards the end of “Nightmare”, a full-on brutal intro that slowly mellowed towards the end (this might have been more suitable to close the EP). The band supported a hard and tough sound backing Nielsen’s livid vocals up perfectly. “Who’s Gonna Want Me Now” followed in a minute…literally.  “One, two, fuck you!” starts off the minute long mosh pit enhancer and before you know it, it’s laid to rest. “Harsh” reached way back into the hardcore styles I remember growing up with and stayed tough all the way through. “Blackbird” had a little horror-punk feel to the start only to jump kick into awesomeness.  “New York Minutes” again just was looking to pick a fight.  Great song full of opportunity to sing along and get rowdy.

Senses Fail seemed to be getting weaker and weaker with their last few efforts and I pretty much stopped listening to them. When I heard Buddy Nielsen belt out a harsh grouping of vocals at the beginning of this EP, I knew I was in for something good.  The combination of musical forces have structured quite the beast of a band. There are no positive songs on here, only hate and self-loathing ideas mashed with hardcore goodness – Kids are going to love these guys.

If you are a die hard fan of Senses Fail and think you are going to be treated to new material by them, stay clear. This is a little harder than what you might be expecting. Additionally, if you are tired of hearing about Buddy and want nothing to do with Senses Fail, maybe you should still give Bayonet a chance. Who knows, you might dig them like I did.

These days, I’m a little too weathered to be swinging about in the pit and picking fights with the concrete. Still, I know when I hear something I like.  All I can say to Bayonet is: “Good job, when is the full length coming out, and when the hell are you guys touring my way?”