Converse Rubber Tracks x MetalSucks Preview, Week 1: Blackest

This coming July, five unsigned bands will visit Converse Rubber Tracks in Brooklyn, NY to record at Converse’s completely free, state-of-the-art recording studio with producer Will Putney. MetalSucks held an open application process in April for bands to apply, then Axl, Vince and Will sifted through all of the entries to choose their five favorite bands. In the weeks leading up to these recording sessions, we’ll be previewing one band every Monday, so you can get a taste of what’s in store for ya! Today, we feature Blackest from right here in Brooklyn.

Blackest bring the mosh, and they bring it hard. That their mix of sludgy riffs, frenetic attack and hardcore-inspired vocals bares some similarity to one of last year’s CRTxMetalSucks featurees — White Widows Pact — could be chalked up to coincidence.

But is it really? Though the two bands don’t share any members, both spend plenty of time in the same scummy Brooklyn backwater bars, drink the same rotten beer, the same cheap whiskey swill, and, more than likely, have unknowingly (or knowingly) rubbed shoulders on more than one occasion.

It’s a classic case of nature vs. nurture: is there something coded into the DNA of those modern day metalheads attracted to Brooklyn that inspires them to crank out tunes with such vigor, venom and vitriol? Or is it the scene itself which incubates and supports such talent, mixing it up and creating a toxic stew that’s a blend of all of its parts? Probably a little of both, but, frankly, we don’t really care all that much how it developed as long as it did, especially when it’s pumping out bands as tight and heavy as Blackest.

Stream their self-titled 2013 EP below: