“Survival made me guilty.”

Watch Me Bleed, the debut LP from Missing Link, is a reality check - an immensely heavy-hitting record on all fronts that is bound to create countless jobs in the medical field. Equal parts unbridled aggression and honest introspection, Watch Me Bleed is a modern hardcore masterpiece, one focused on cycles of violence and the damage that can be done in the name of survival.

The record kicks off with the monolithic “Pillar of Salt,” a two and a half minute beast of a track that wastes no time getting to the pit, opening with a huge guitar riff that quickly goes halftime under soaring divebombs before speeding back up into the first verse. Alternating between machine-tight chugging guitars and impressively fast tremolo picking, this track truly feels like getting hit by a freight train, a feeling that becomes familiar quickly during Watch Me Bleed’s thirty minute runtime. First single “New York Minute” follows, with a barbaric instrumental full of riffs that are equally catchy and supremely pissed off. The song also boasts one of the most immediately memorable vocal hooks on the record, and lyrics detailing an ingrained paranoia to protect oneself at all costs, even if there is no real threat present at the time. Unsettling and unrelenting, “New York Minute” is easily a highlight on a record full of them.

The menacing “Scraps for the Dog” maintains the momentum with one hell of a mosh part as soon as the song starts, and a call and response hook that will have people piling on top of each other for the mic. The track culminates in one final nasty breakdown before Missing Link and every member of Gridiron come together to collaborate on the next track - the monstrous “Numbers on the Board.” Much of the song centers around variations on the same riff, with each vocalist on the track bringing a distinct different energy, ensuring that the repetition present here cannot fade into monotony, and instead builds upon itself until the song reaches its ultimate maniacal ending.

“Another Cross” opens up with an absolute behemoth of a riff, before giving way to machine-tight chugging guitars and one of the most immediately infectious hooks on the album. The melody present on this song is an interesting change of pace, and Missing Link never let these moments take over the track - instead using this variation to make “Another Cross” hit just that much harder. Lyrically, the song grapples with decisions made in the name of survival, and the dread that one day there will be a price to pay for those choices. Complete with some of the heaviest moments on the entire record, both musically and thematically, “Another Cross” is not only an easy standout, but one of the best songs to be released so far this year.

The blistering and ferocious “Crusade” follows with some of the most violent breakdowns on the record, and is followed by the utterly punishing “I Want To Kill You (PT.2),” which sees Missing Link indulging their death metal influences and creating an absolute ass-beater that needs to be heard to be believed. The record wraps up with “See Ya Later,” “Genuflect,” and a hidden remixed version of promo track “Two Cent Circus.” “See Ya Later” is a seething track made up of one violent riff after another, with each new section somehow adding new levels of intensity as the song flies by. The lyrics on this track struggle with being born into cycles of violence and choosing to follow a path other than the one presented, whereas album closer “Genuflect” seems to reflect on those who never had a chance to see a different fate. Complete with a haunting and apocalyptic guest feature from Eloise Chamber, “Genuflect” is a mournful and melodic ending to the record, and one that could not have been better executed.

Watch Me Bleed is one hell of a debut album - a masterpiece that only manages to get better with each visceral trip through its tracklist, and one that cements Missing Link as one of the most compelling newer bands in hardcore.

10/10