"All Time Low" (on 
I believe "The Fierce Urgency of Now", the latest release from Passion on Goodfellow Records, is my first exposure to the band's brand of vicious and energetic (though also melodic) metallic hardcore. These guys have been compared to the CrimethInc. sort of sound, but I don't really agree with that when looking at the big picture—though I will admit that some of the vocal arrangements and the occasional appearance of a caustic, chaotic edge do bear some resemblance to Catharsis' later work. The disc is generally rather speedy and dominated by relatively harsh yelling and a fairly constant bit of dissonance in many of the guitar parts, with a few more openly metallic riffs—from dual guitar runs to blazing, borderline grinding tremolo picking—and they'll occasionally unload an unexpectedly burly slab of crushing midpaced chug. It's not exactly groundbreaking, but you do get a sense of urgency and sincerity (both musically and lyrically), which is crucial when you're going to go so far as to call your band Passion, you know? And the riffing absolutely hits on a number of the types of zippy picking patterns and curiously discordant melodic riffs that tend to catch my ear, so within a few minutes of my initial listen it was clear to me that this is a band to watch. I do feel like the recording needs a touch of work in terms of desiring a more natural warmth to the percussion and perhaps a more distinct bass presence in the core of the mix, but for the most part everything's alright—it's just that there's a slightly overbearing quality to the overall mix that doesn't really fit the true nature of Passion's material. The cover art on this thing definitely looks pretty awesome, though! Yeah, keep an eye on these dudes...
Passion "Me"
Passion "The Natural"
Pick up a copy for yourself if you dig the tunes:
Comments
I can hear the Crime Ridden in the first Know the Score track, but not so much in the second. I do dig the burly guitars but the vocals need to beef up to match them a little bit.
11.1.2006 | By Johnny
Passion sound a lot like Die Young (TX) to me. Which is a good thing.
11.1.2006 | By xYosefx
Passion is fucking awesome. I can see where the Crimethinc. thing is comming from. They don’t really sound like any of the bands on Crimethinc. really (vocally the Catharsis thing is there), but they do sound like something that Crimethinc. would have put out.
The other band is decent as well, but Passion blew them out of the water.
11.1.2006 | By Carlzilla
i know some of these kids personal from past bands n what not, they are completely awesome, and totally passionate about what they create. although i personally don’t like or haven’t gotten into this album as much, their prior ep is more then exceptional and worth tracking down
11.1.2006 | By Anonymous
oh and kenny, the lead vocalist, is a die hard catharsis fan.
11.1.2006 | By Anonymous
Passion sound like Die Young? I don’t know, that’s a tough call. I can definitely see how the Crimethinc. reference can be made though. Passion is pretty sweet, actually. If only the drums didn’t sound gross.
11.2.2006 | By Tyrone
I like this two songs… The vocal is very good and also the song composition is well done… nothing new but “fresh air” in today “metalcore” scene… I don’t know but I heard some Catharsis feeling :))
sorry for my bad english
11.2.2006 | By valter