Two Minutes Hate "Strong and On" CD
[Thorp]
This all too brief discography is the latest in Thorp's very cool Unsung Series, and Andy from Thorp Records was even in this band for a short time (he sings on the first six songs herein). Two Minutes Hate's style was basically heavy old school hardcore with some slight oi/punk influences both lyrically and stylistically (barely, though). Vocally things are usually in a straightforward yelling/shouting style, but when the drummer sings he gets a little bit melodic on occasion. There's a scarce dose of melody in some of the music too, but nothing too crazy. It's all pretty much by the books, but not in what I'd call a generic way. The recording is sort of rough, but it's not that bad. I'm not sure what year these tracks were recorded in, but my guess is that the sound quality is about on par with the age of the sessions. The mix tends to be even and gives enough room to the bass, the vocals don't overpower, etc. Of course the seven older songs on which the drummer sings are rougher than the six-track demo that starts the disc off, but the sound is still tolerable. I'm guessing the final tracks were mastered from vinyl, because you can hear some very faint popping and clicking sounds on rare occasion. The layout looks pretty good, using bright colors and consistent fonts throughout, with subtle layered imagery in the background of gears, smokestacks, and guys doing manual labor. They misspell "perseverance" on the traycard and inside the booklet ("perserverance"), but oh well. The lyrics are pretty diverse, running from working class types of topics to intensely personal issues. "Brother, it's hazed, It's lost in a fade, It's all on pause until we push play, Today is the day when we bring it back, Back to the way when we didn't lack, Truth... honor..." There are also some brief liner notes from a couple of the band members reflecting on their time spent back when the band as active. I can't believe these guys recorded less than 30 minutes of material throughout their entire existence. A shame. I mean, damn, this is a discography CD and it's basically an EP. Nothing on this disc blows my mind, but every song is solid, and I doubt the band had reached their full potential when they called it a day. (7/10)
Running time - 25:14, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: Harvest Rapture, Little Nathan, Mindlock, Stomp of Approval]
Thorp Records - http://www.thorprecords.com

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