I've never been a huge fan of The Hope Conspiracy, though I have enjoyed all of their past work, but "Death Knows Your Name", their latest full-length (from the mighty Deathwish Inc.), comes across with the most immediate punch of any of the band's material to date—at least to my ears. Containing 11 generally concise tracks in 35 minutes, the bulk of the songs take a fairly consistent turn towards an aggressive form of hardcore that's got a strong rock undercurrent happening. I often find the whole rock-infused hardcore thing to be relatively bland and tired myself, but this material is in another league from most of that shit, proving that The Hope Conspiracy really has a firm grasp on how to deliver such influences in a focused manner—one that includes a few scattered (and excellent) post-hardcore sounding textures and a noisy edge that never loses control or detracts from the focus of the songwriting. In addition, the vocals are pretty fuckin' fierce, which really pays off, and the blaring pulse of the Kurt Ballou recording job, as always, acts as a nice benefit to the big picture. Oh, and as if that weren't enough, the cover art on this thing is completely badass. I'm all over that shit. Awesome.
The Hope Conspiracy "Deadtown Nothing"
The Hope Conspiracy "Suicide Design"
Yeah, this is great stuff. I don't think this one's been officially released yet, but the pre-orders should already be shipping from the label, so make the damn grab if you dig the tunes:
Comments
I got mine the other day. It’s awesome.
9.8.2006 | By Jon
I LOVE THIS BAND! im so glad theyre back. they went through a long rough patch but goddamn did i miss these guys.
9.8.2006 | By chris
Yeah I love them too, especially Cold Blue!!! Andrew, thanxxx for the tip on Gardenian I have ordered one of their CDs for cheap to see if I like it :)
9.8.2006 | By xbenx
They’ve really showed a surprising amount of progression and maturity here lately. The Hang Your Cross EP was easily the best thing I’ve heard this year. Finally after a decade and a cast of hundreds making the attempt, a Boston band finally does the whole rock-core thing successfully. It’s like the atom has finally been split.
9.8.2006 | By Johnny
awesome record. by the way, can’t wait to hear the new converge
9.9.2006 | By HM
Although i like this record, it doesn’t even stand in Endnote’s shadow. (If you don’t like that record andrew, just play it till you do.) That record was INSANE. Compared to that, the new one sounds like a rushjob writing wise, but it definitely has it’s very strong moments.
9.9.2006 | By Mikel
Long time fan here. Definitely gonna get this shit.
9.9.2006 | By Adrianoso
within the last year i got into the hope conspiracy. i used to see them all the time and just not really have much interest in them but it finally clicked one day, i got the split with suicide file and that song “failure” is just completely brutal… i had the 7” from just checking them out so i started listening to that constantly and wearing down the hope conspiracy side of the suicide file split (since that song has yet to be released on cd) so i’m super stoked to hear their new cd.. and glad you posted these tracks, thanks!
9.9.2006 | By Anonymous
I agree with Mikel that Endnote was a better record, but I also prefer Endnote to Cold Blue. Overall, this is the most nuanced album in their oeuvre, but there’s no doubt that these guys still write some of the most raging hardcore going ‘round. Double thumbs up.
9.10.2006 | By Manisthebastard
It’s a pretty sad indictment on the current state of hardcore when a hardcore band with rock leanings is looked upon as an aberration! This album is a breath of fresh air to these ears. It has less metallic crunch than their previous albums, but is every bit as fierce and brooding. Can’t get enough of this shit!
9.13.2006 | By Born Aghast!