Hero Dishonest "Let Your Poison Scream" CD
[If Society]
Raw, straight up hardcore/punk from Finland with dual vocals trading off between variations on screaming and a core of songs based around fairly fast old school styled chord progressions with a few more abrasive modern elements or loose sort of classic Black Flag-isms. The vocals lighten up a little bit in "D.O.F.", so they're not so over the top, working within a catchier format to the writing as well with greater tempo changes; and "Hidden in Plain View" slows down the tempos at times letting some unexpected post-hardcore dissonance/melody shine through. It's little things like this that keep this record interesting. The general approach isn't all that original, but they do offer a broader range of influences, which adds to the songs and keeps things fresh and helps establish them against the thousands of other bands of this nature that are out there. A few of the more straightforward tracks like "Case 3: North Core" or "Hiljaisuuden Salaliitto" can actually get slightly boring by comparison (whereas others like "Killed in Inaction" get heavier with the breakdown stuff), but there are no bad songs within. The recording is pretty damn rough, which works both for and against the material. On the bad side, the vocals are a little too dominant in the mix, and the end result of the sound as a whole leans a little towards the thin and gritty side of things. On the other hand, the thinness gives the killer bass tone plenty of room to make itself heard as a prominent instrument, and aside from very minor issues with the drums and guitar tones, everything does sound pretty good. All I'd like to hear is a more closely leveled mix with a bit more punch to the low-end tones. I can certainly live with it, though. I think the layout looks great here, with high contrast images and text in black and brown, and lots of sort of cut and paste looking arrangements. It's consistent and looks interesting. Most of the lyrics are in English, but they provide translation of the titles and succinct explanations for the tracks that are in Finnish. The lyrics largely deal with the hardships and troubles of the world and day to day life from a somewhat personal and open perspective, ever so slightly hinting at a "political" angle as far as commenting on war, industry, freedom, etc. "On the path of silent traditions, Pull us back like a generation of lost causes, Braindeads make quick decisions, And we fail to disappoint them, I count my ways to deal with this shit, Just to deal with it, I get one middle finger..." A better recording would definitely, definitely help these guys out, but the songs have a good level of energy. They keep it short but sweet and make their point without messing around. There's room for improvement, but I'm liking what I hear already. I'd say this one's only a few hairs away from hitting the 7/10 mark. (6/10)
Running time - 21:45, Tracks: 16
[Notable tracks: Case 2: Hobo Hobby, D.O.F., Hidden in Plain View, Killed in Inaction]
If Society - http://www.ifsociety.com

This review has been displayed 1723 times.