Holding On "Question What You Live For" CD

Holding On "Question What You Live For" CD
[Bridge Nine]
God damn, I don't know how they do it, but time and time again Bridge Nine manages to find some of the best fucking old school hardcore bands out there. On their latest full-length, Holding On throws down 16 tracks of highly energetic and melodic hardcore with a heavy edge. Awesome. Almost no song reaches two minutes, and this material is sheer force. Fast chord progressions, heavy breakdowns, throbbing basslines, occasional tinges of melody, straight vocal shouts with some gang backups... you know the drill, but damn, even if it's not particularly original, this is one of the best hardcore records I've heard in awhile. After about five minutes of silence at the end of the CD they throw in a cool cover of Man Afraid's "3-91" as well, which is a cool choice because Man Afraid isn't exactly the most covered band in hardcore, know what I mean? The recording is slick as hell, and I have no gripes. The rhythm section sounds great, the guitars are full and in your face without the slightest trace of muddiness, and the vocals are right smack in there. Good stuff. The packaging is pretty cool. I don't know, I'm generally pretty big on high contrast imagery that uses a strict color palette. Here all of the backgrounds are gray with some blue imagery and orange and white text that fits in nicely with the texture of the photos and stuff. I also like the bluntness of the lyrics and the attitude expressed through track titles like "Your Excuses Are as Lame as You" and "You're Kidding, Right?" And like I said, the lyrics are blunt as hell, pulling no punches: "I'm stuck between, Between here and nowhere, I don't fucking know, And I don't fucking care, I don't know why I keep running, But I know I can't stay, Everyday spent trapped in your fucking world, Is another wasted fucking day." So there you have it. This is a short review, but really, that says it all. Two thumbs up from me. (7/10)
Running time - 25:30 (approximately), Tracks: 16
[Notable tracks: Fate Comes Crashing, From Here to Nowhere, One Night and Counting, Do I Make Myself Clear?]
Bridge Nine Records - http://www.bridge9.com

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