Trapped Under Ice Brings Quickfire Intensity In "Heatwave"

Hardcore punk comes quickly and leaves a lasting punch. Trapped Under Ice brings quickfire intensity in Heatwave, hitting the listener quickly with brutal blows for their short but lively album.

Being that the album clocks in at a whopping thirteen minutes, there isn't much to talk about besides what comes off immediately in every track. 'Backstabbed' brings the record to an intense start, the epic riff rushing forward with loads of energy. The random guitar solo doesn't really fit into the song, but it does keep the energy going. This quickly paced theme is pretty much the centerpoint of the entire album, most of it revolving around the motif of a big riff and driving beat under aggressive vocals.

Heatwave feels like it almost misses the point of what it means to be a punk band. It's got the anger, but you can't really understand the substance to that anger in the minute long songs. Each track comes and goes, sometimes with random interludes separating them. Nothing sticks out and there isn't any overarching sense of anger directed at anything. It feels aimless in its yelling. 'Throw It Away' is the only track that really just doesn't sound like it hit the mark, everything down to the delivery just sounding a bit off.

Trapped Under Ice brings quickfire intensity in Heatwave but does just sound angry for the sake of being angry. None of the music feels substantiated beyond the angry riffs and yelled vocals. Being angry for the sake of it isn't really the essence of punk. There just isn't a purpose here.

Favorite Track: Backstabbed

Least Favorite Track: Throw It Away

Rating: 60 / 100

Stream or buy Heatwave on Apple Music: