Urban Head Raw "Human Instinct" CD
[Crimes Against Humanity]
Fuck yeah! Heavy as fuck hardcore/punk from Japan with a major thrash metal vibe happening. The opening rhythm is just fuckin' classic, and that heaviness adds so much to their driving rhythms. Shit, some of the rhythms are so moshy that they have a NYHC sort of groove happening, and they rip out some solos too. The vocals are burly midrange shouts that are also a great match for the songs. This shit is all about ripping thrash metal breakdowns, and I love every minute of it! "Complicity in Murder" opens up as a flat out metal track, reverting back to the straightforward pounding rhythms as the vocals kick in, but definitely getting into more of that metallic hardcore punch with the chorus... a great fuckin' track. "Human Instinct" is another of the more metal-based tracks, with one of the longer and more melodic lead passages as well. A couple of the tracks that get a little faster like "Dai" and "Pain of Hate" hint at a crossover sort of bite too, and you can't lose there. The recording is strong as well, definitely a little thick, but not really muddy or anything. The bass plays a huge role, the guitar is ultra heavy, etc. The drums are a little unbalanced, and the vocals sound separated from the music at times, but in large part everything's right about where it should be. The guitar tone is so crisp that it totally rips for this kind of stuff. I'm not that into the layout. The collage on the back cover is alright, and the lyrics and stuff are clean and consistent, but the front cover is boring and I don't like the overuse of different typefaces and all that. It's not too eye-catching at all. The lyrics are brief as hell, a couple of lines per track, in rough English and taking an almost exclusive stance against war: "No escape, The past of control, It continues, Bloody just war." My only minor problem with this record is that even at 32 minutes it feels a little one-sided and can get slightly stale, the songs don't differentiate themselves from one another all that much. But fuck it, because I haven't really heard anything that keeps its punk edge intact with so much metal like this in a long fucking time, and I'm totally into it. Check this one out, definitely. It might be too metal for some, but I think they kick ass. (7/10)
Running time - 32:27, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Complicity in Murder, Human Instinct, Dai]
Crimes Against Humanity Records - http://www.cahrecords.com

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