BITE DOWN are from Sweden and they claim to play Metalcore. With the current EP (or is it album) "Violent Playground" they are giving us the fourth instalment of their kind of racket. With just over 23 minutes of different kinds of noises that are being extracted from my speakers I opt for the EP part. Back to the musical genre they say they operate in; I believe that Metalcore is a much too narrowminded approach to what I'm listening to. I hear a lot of Electronic influences, even a bit of House and Trance, but also Death Metal, brushing against Grindcore. And as the sensations and moods are swinging from mellow and docile up to ultra-violent, extremely heavy and at close to warp speed, I think that the common denomination of Metalcore is rather apt, although Deathcore could also be fitting.

Not is all as it seems, I decide. What is bugging me though is the fact that I can't get a grip on what my brains and ears are receiving. Somehow what BITE DOWN is producing is eluding me completely. Am I too old to understand what is being done here? I don't think so, as I do get a band like VON MOLLESTEIN, who aren't exactly subtle in what they make either. But there I do get the songs; I understand what they're trying to achieve. In that sense "Violent Playground" has got me stumped, because none of this makes me feel that I'm experiencing real songs, but more like soundscapes put together in order to fill an EP (or is this a full album?) with the as much of irritating sounds as possible?

What I always do is listen to an album whilst cycling to work. I have to admit that BITE DOWN did distract me from the traffic around me from time to time, due to  some of the unexpected occurrences during those sessions. I also put my headphones on while I walk the dogs, and there I find that "Violent Playground" was more of an annoying distraction than a pleasant addition to those walks. And that unfortunately id the overall feeling that has stayed with all this time. Conclusion: if the songs don't have to make sense to you, but need to be filled with as much noise and distracting sounds possible, you should give BITE DOWN a go. Who knows, "Violent Playground" may be just your thing.