If someone had predicted that a group of young, bitter, outcast Californians would end up stringing together a handful of songs that recall the northeastern U.S. metalcore vibe of the late 90’s, I would have replied, “Do we really need one more cookie-cutter moshcore band littering the scene?” Fortunately, while dissonant, jazzy mathcore upstarts Noriega do indeed fit the abovementioned profile and era of inspiration, they differ from the stereotype in more ways than can be packed into this run-on sentence. Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: “Desolo,” Noriega’s debut EP for Viable Records, knocked me flat on my ass. And I’m as stingy with praise as they come for bands who try paying homage to my most beloved era of hardcore, as it’s the one I grew up both a die-hard fan and diligent student of. Just like Noriega blows its load right off the bat with EP opener “You Are God Songs,” so too will this review follow similar suit and ejaculate a compliment I never thought I’d shooting out: Noriega are the missing link between Blood Has Been Shed’s “I Dwell On Thoughts Of You” and “Novella Of Uriel.” While this reference may be dated and unfairly obscure for the average contemporary heavy music listener, no fan of metal/jazz/hardcore fusion which most refer to as mere metalcore should be ignorant about the legendary Western Massachusetts band and their unmistakably catchy mathcore sound that influenced so many, before frontman Howard Jones moved onto his second true calling in Killswitch Engage. In that sense, Noriega share yet another element in common with Blood Has Been Shed. Besides the coincidence of both bands’ frontmen being black, Noriega’s Trae Malone spits his venom in a stream-of-consciousness style that both guides the constant tempo shifts, and carries on independently of the band’s music. A longtime listener of Howard Jones’ would have to either have grown deaf with time, or become far-removed from the game not to notice Trae Malone’s uncanny parallel in both delivery and projection. While in recent years the thankless underground has freely taken potshots at Jones for his syrupy sweet harmonizing in Killswitch Engage, older fans of his would recall an unhinged, unforgiving nutcase of a frontman whose undying and broadly-varied screams have found scarce competition in recent years. Noriega’s Trae Malone might just be the one to inherit Jones’ crown since Blood Has Been Shed went on indefinite hiatus over five years ago. On “Desolo” Malone comes across as a distrustful, conflict-ridden, pensive man who is beyond his years in heartache and suffering. This is the basis of an unstoppable frontman. There appear to be no limits as to where Malone and his band will end up. Rest assured though, this is only the beginning. Noriega’s upcoming full-length cannot come soon enough.