The Setup is one of the upcoming European hardcore bands and with their newest effort they directly come in the top ten European hardcore bands from this moment.
Here is a short introduction for those who never heard from this Belgian band. The Setup plays raw hardcore since 2003 and up until now they released some 7 inches, a MCD and a full length. They played a lot of shows throughout Europe and toured with bands like Ringworm, Death Before Dishonor, Zero Mentality and a lot more.
January 2007 is probably the month were you can’t miss this band. Next to this full length on GSR Music they release a 7inch split with Zero Mentality on Demons Run Amok entertainment.

Minister Of Death sounds very raw brutal and dark. Compare it to bands like Hatebreed, Most Precious Blood and Terror and this band doesn’t knuckle under for those bands.

From the beginning till the end the songs get my attention. Normally I’m not so fond of hardcore songs that last longer than 2.5 minutes. But The Setup songs still stay exciting the whole time, while all the songs are longer than 2.5 minutes.

As you can see on the left hand side of your screen, the artwork is also great. This was done by Dennis Sibeijn from Damnengine. The cover really shows the feeling I had when I heard Minister Of Death.

In a few weeks from now, The Setup is playing all over Europe with Born From Pain and First Blood, so check this band out on stage.
This album is definitely one of the best hardcore releases in the last months. When you’re quick, you can buy this release with a bonus DVD. Live footage from their shows at Groezrock 2005, Pukkelpop 2006 and the making of Minister Of Death.