Fuck yes. Best hardcore record of 2007 thus far? Quite possibly. When I heard the first demo from To the Lions last year I was way into it, and "Baptism of Fire", their debut full-length on Goodfellow Records, picks up right there and takes things even further by improving upon the punchiness of the recording quality and giving everything that extra little kick in the ass... which makes for a fucking killer half-hour of straight up, pissed off metallic hardcore. As you'd probably expect, the songwriting's based more around that 90's style of chunky, midpaced power chords and sick breakdowns with just the right balance of speed and energy to keep things sounding more furious and in your face than "moshy", though there are little bits and pieces of loose melody and metal-based flourishes floating around that do lend a "contemporary" edge to the material. I can still hear a bit of a Ringworm connection happening (especially vocally, and these vocals are fuckin' great) in terms of that whole Clevo style, and I'll never fucking complain about that, but as straightforward as this album is there's still more to it than that, so I don't want to sell the band short with those types of comparisons at all. Though, yes, apocalyptic lyrics do make appearances as well:
And so it begins, it's kill or be killed. Bring forth the hellfire, revealing our weakness, as we turn against ourselves. Is it too late to see that we are living in an end prophecy? I never knew it would come to this. Our time is up. I never knew we would die like this. The nightmare begins. All hope abandoned, no innocent bystanders. Too deep, there's no turning back. Sinking deeper and deeper into our punishment, ruin, and oblivion. In this final hour, it's kill or be killed. It's here, it's real, and we won't wake up from this. The nightmare begins.
I don't know, man... it's just fucking solid, heavy hardcore that possesses the kind of songwriting force that gets your blood boiling and makes you want to destroy. Who doesn't love that? I for one think that such traits are all too rare these days, so I'm very enthusiastically amped on this band. No doubt.
To the Lions "Born to Die"
To the Lions "Ten/Fifteen"
Most definitely fucking recommended, so you know what to do:
Comments
I fuckin need this ASAP
7.9.2007 | By xBenx
I am astounded by this album and I find myself listening to it constantly. Shit is really tight, but it’s too bad that they’ll never tour.
7.9.2007 | By Eddie
got this last week, been listening to it a shitload of times. fucking good band. adrenaline.
7.9.2007 | By kluzehellion
I had a feeling you’d like this. Good shit, indeed.
7.9.2007 | By xGabrielx
Very powerful. Can definitely hear a subtle Clevo groove going through that, especially in the first song. I need to pick this up.
7.9.2007 | By Johnny
Shit! This sounds really good, gotta get the record as soon i get paid! Totally into it.
7.9.2007 | By MarkusxKTL
I like it, good shit . I hope I will find this album in Europe ...
7.10.2007 | By Valter
I cannot put into words how much I like these dudes. So vastly underrated but the people that know the deal appreciate these cats.
7.11.2007 | By Jeff
Whoa, I haven’t checked this site for a while but that’s some good shit! I definitely need to track down that album. Thanks for introducing me to yet another great band I probably would never have heard about otherwise.
8.4.2007 | By Tom