No Turning Back "Revenge is a Right" CD
[Gangstyle]
Yet another band from The Netherlands drops some metalcore with a mix of traditional hardcore chord progressions and heavier NYHC styled mosh with gruff shouts and lots of gang backup vocals. There's nothing new here, but they're good at what they do. I'd like it a lot more if the recording didn't totally suck, though. This thing sounds really weak, and it's killing the force of the songs big time. The drums are way too rigid and stick out like crazy compared to everything else, the bass is hard to hear, the guitars and vocals are sort of thin and distant... there's no punch. None whatsoever. They need to add a lot more crunch to the guitars, up the bass, mix the drums back behind the guitars and vocals... shit, they really just need to work on almost everything here. I like the songwriting, there's definitely a hefty Madball influence going on, but the production is practically intolerable for me. I honestly can't listen to this record straight through because of the production, and that's a damn shame because these are really good songs. There's a CD-Rom portion that contains a video for "Nothing Remains" with some live footage over studio audio, and oddly enough the sound quality is actually better for the video than it is on the CD itself. The recording's fuller and more fluid. Go figure. At the end of the disc they also do an unlisted cover of a Bulldoze track, which is always a fine choice. The layout's okay. Some of the artwork is cool, I like the cover and the tattoo styled center spread illustrations, but the typefaces are plain and the tiny drawings on each page aren't that hot. There are a couple of band photos as well... nothing too special. As the album title might suggest the lyrics are what would be considered "toughguy" stuff for the most part: "Believe me, you'll get what you deserve, 'Cause I know justice will be served..." or "Brothers for life - we share the same blood, My crew is my family - the only thing I've got..." You get the idea. They look like a pretty energetic live band in the video clip, so I'd say see 'em live if they play near you, but wait for the next record to check out their studio work, because this album's not a good representation of what they would be capable of under more suitable circumstances. Too bad, these guys could kick some ass... (5/10)
Running time - 27:00 (approximately), Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: My Revenge, No Turning Back, Nothing Remains]
Gangstyle Records - http://www.gangstylerecords.com

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