EP Review: Begbie – Play Hard (Self Released)

Begbie was born in 2018 in a small village surrounded by corn fields and fog in Northern Italy. The instrumental duo is comprised of Nicola Girelli (guitars) and Dario Rossini (drums).

After one year of rehearsing and playing gigs, they have released their first EP ‘Play Hard’.

Dubbed in Italian, the intro is a homage to the character ‘Begbie’ who is the main antagonist of the cult 90’s movie, Trainspotting. Those who know the movie well will recognise the infamous pub scene even if they don’t speak Italian.

The EP gets properly going with Memento though and it’s clear that this duo mean business. It’s fast, it’s heavy and it’s complex. The beast inside Begbie is awake and it’s very, very angry. The blend of hardcore fury with metal riffs and math rock time changes is impressive stuff.

If you’ve not lost your mind to that track then The Carpenter will do the job. The chunky drop into brief echoing melody is top notch. It just gets better and better too with Don’t Drunk and Dribbling’s frantic energy and Sensational Mad’s layered noise.

All before it wraps up with a ‘Gojira’ style of riffing mixed with eye-watering hardcore speed. This is such a wicked finale and the confirmation that Begbie are ones to be keeping an eye on.

Begbie – Play Hard Full Track Listing:

1. Intro
2. Memento
3. The Carpenter
4. Don’t Drink and Dribbling
5. Sensational Mad
6. Scream the Border

Links

Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram