Along with Lost Tribe and Deathcharge, Cross Stitched Eyes are another gang of crusty deathrock-worshipping creeps who incorporate their infatuation with classic goth into a furious hardcore attack. Featuring former members of some pretty well-known bands like UK Subs, Zygote, and Subhumans, some of the people in Cross Stitched Eyes are also involved in the band Alaric, another Bay Area band blending post-punk/deathrock and darker, heavier metallic sounds. The band has a handful of releases out and will be putting out a brand new album later this Spring ('12) on Alternative Tentacles that I'm eagerly looking forward to; in the meantime, I'm picking up their older titles for C-Blast and recommending 'em strongly to fans of the goth/crust sound. I think that I is their first release, put out in 2007 on Ruin Nation, and it's still some of their best material in my opinion. The four songs are slower, brooding numbers that combine the aggressive, grinding punk with some very catchy UK goth elements, especially on the opener "Rot", which really does live up to the whole " Rudimentary Peni meets Killing Joke" description that has been attached to these guys. The song "Suffer" is faster and more driving, darkened hardcore with nihilistic lyrics, and "Cast Out" is a thrashy, sinister ode to anti-Christianity that also suggests a more metallic Rudimentary Peni. The last song "Stitched" ends the Ep with a furious stomping anarcho anthem with some killer driving riffs and subtle spacey effects. A ripping lil' 7" that's a perfect introduction to their heavy-duty gothcrust. Comes in a heavy cardboard jacket with apocalyptic black and white artwork, and includes a fold-out lyric insert.