CMJ Music Marathon 2008 Day 3: This or the Apocalypse

Going into the Metal Blade/Relapse/Lifeforce showcase I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. All I know is I needed desperately to get away from the scene I was in, and get a glimpse of some metal (which is highly underappreciated among the CMJ folk). This or the Apocalypse was a pretty good way to start making my ears bleed a little. Banking on a new era of hardcore/thrash, these relatively young chaps weren’t screwing around. Playing to one of the smaller audiences I’d seen at CMJ thus far (once again, the metal factor), they still gave a valid, solid performance to a small crowd of hardcore devotees.