Bolt Action "Straight Out the Sticks" CD
[Cartel]
This Florida band offers up an odd blend of metallic hardcore that meshes straight up burly mosh rhythms with slightly more rocked out metallic hardcore, straight metal riffs, and a thuggish toughguy hip-hop sort of edge to a lot of the vocal patterns and groovier chord progressions. They're definitely a band whose demeanor (physically and musically) falls right in line with the Cartel label, that's for damn sure! The occasional patriotic/skinhead infused lyrics are an odd combination for the musical approach, so it's impossible not to draw loose comparisons to Biohazard circa "Urban Discipline", but I'd also throw in some Fury of Five and Skarhead as well. I like this, though. I have to admit it. The songs are memorable, and I'm always a sucker for this kind of stuff as long as it has a solid recording and decent songwriting, which this does. The dual vocal attack is cool and keeps things moving with lots of tradeoffs and backing vocals, and the vocal patterns actually flow really well, definitely more involved than most such bands as far as arrangements and the tempo of the lines. "N.U.T.S.A.C." opens up like a late-80's thrash metal song and the reverts to a total Fury of Five rhythm, "In Stride" has a detuned groove that borders on hitting a sludgy vibe, "Hardship" has a few faster and more energetic moments, "Time Bomb" has more of a midpaced metal crunch, etc. The last track, "Battle Prone", is an older demo song that actually has a pretty similar recording that's just a little bit rawer, and musically it's maybe a little choppier in the rhythm department - a damn strong song though, I can see why it was tacked on. As far as the production, it's nice and heavy with an even mix. The bass doesn't make much of a dent (I'd like to hear that change), but the guitar tone is thick as hell and dominates the core of their sound. The drums sound fine, as do the vocals. It could all use some polishing up of course, and there's some separation in the mix, but I'm not bothered by anything. The guitar tone is the most important here, and that's definitely the driving force, so for what they're doing this sounds fine and is probably a little better than average. The layout's alright, a little choppy, but alright. There's sort of a military motif with helicopters hovering over a swamp and images of dogtags, bullets, etc. along with several band photos. The lyrics reference military imagery at times as well, but generally sort of take the toughguy route with some violent posturing, a few patriotic/skinhead sorts of things, etc. Not really my thing, but it's interesting that the lyrics are a little more involved and unusual than most of what you'd see given the content. "Piercing sense and illaudable stares, Bring right to reason, world aware, Assassination on a law unjust, Subversion through assault, Blow the law into dust..." Not bad. It's a little different than what I had expected but I like it for the most part. My biggest complaint might be that the record's a little long, as 47 minutes can be a bit much to take, and there are a few songs that aren't as powerful. But all in all? Good stuff. (7/10)
Running time - 47:25, Tracks: 14
[Notable tracks: Do Not Provoke, Hardship, Time Bomb, Battle Prone]
Cartel Records - http://www.cartelenterprises.com

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