The Promise "Believer" CD
[Indecision]
The Promise kicks ass, and I'm pretty sure this is the best metallic hardcore record I've heard since the mid-90's. For those unaware this band features former members of Another Victim, Conviction, One King Down, and Santa Sangre. (Plus guitarist Jim Winters has also played with Believer and is currently in the almighty Starkweather, even though I'm told that he doesn't record in the studio with The Promise!?) This time around the writing is definitely creative as far as this style of music goes, and they cram a shitload of diversity into very short tracks (only one reaches three minutes, most hover around two minutes or less), but there are a lot more straightforward heavy hardcore influences at work as well, as opposed to the two songs on their previous EP that were far from conventional. "The Kiss Off" is just total power: Heavy, aggressive, melodic, catchy... a fucking winner through and through. It's the perfect track to kick off the record. The title track displays tons of creative riffing and some awesome dual guitar interaction with shocking melodies that are so fucking infectious, but still hard as nails... it's such a strange balance. And I shit you not, but amongst the metal of "Tempered" there are some pop punk riffs that could have been on the first Propagandhi album in a heartbeat. Such rhythms clash with the burly vocal shouts a little bit, but somehow it all works out just fine. The record kind of slows down as it goes on, and the songs become a bit less energetic/creative in my opinion. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but sadly the force of the first half of the record doesn't keep up for the entire 25 minutes. That's not to say that the songs aren't good, they're all good, but by the time I hit track 10 of 13 I find myself missing the sheer intensity of "The Kiss Off". The recording is fucking awesome, though. No complaints from me. The drums sound full and have a good dose of punch, the bass tone destroys, the guitars are heavy but precise, and the vocals rest barely in front of the music. Excellent. More than a few bands should listen to the production here and take some serious notes. The layout is simple and very cool. There's a lot of silver metallic ink, and the only other color is bright red. All of the photos are in black and white. I like the band photos a lot, but the crowd in the token pileup sing-along shot on the back cover looks like they're all 10-year-olds or something, so I might have gone with something else there. Other than that you get lyrics and some brief recording information and such, but it's all presented in a really crisp, straightforward manner. A lot of the lyrics deal with subtle straightedge topics and hardcore in general, but there's usually enough room left for interpretation, though on rare occasion they do get rather blunt. And I'll say it again, 99% of the time if the first two words on a record are "Fuck you!", it's going to kick ass. "So much has been killed by hacks masking tough. Vicious thoughts from bitter tots, a tattoo was never enough. Played the part but didn't know what it all meant. Only thought of being hard and impressing friends. The proof is here by holding on to what we think is right. Clinging to just a few words to get us by..." This one definitely comes recommended from me. If they're ever able to put out a full-length that maintains a constant level of their finest material I'll probably shit myself. (7/10)
Running time - 24:47, Tracks: 13
[Notable tracks: The Kiss Off, Comeback, Believer, Dead Man's Band, Gone Sour]
Indecision Records - http://www.indecisionrecords.com

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