The Minor Times "Making Enemies" CD
[Level-Plane]
Not too shabby. It's been awhile since I heard anything from this band, but this is definitely their heaviest and most focused material to date. It's basically caustic metalcore that's heavy on the rhythmic focus and leans towards a dissonant chaotic side, but it's all very tightly controlled, which is what gives them a major edge over the majority of this genre. There are definitely some overtly noisy passages and areas where the guitars act more as texture than anything, but for the most part it's all perfectly executed with solid rhythm patterns and choppy chord progressions that head all over the neck with lots of harmonics, partially dead string hits, etc. The vocals are full-blown screams with no remorse, and that works for me. I sometimes feel like a few of the songs run on for a little long, as four to five minutes can be a bit much for this overbearing style, but the quality of the all around musicianship helps get them by. But, on the other hand, most of the songs are less than four minutes... so fuck it. They're really not fucking with much melody either, there may be the occasional discordant niche that flirts with a little melody, but for the most part it's a 30-minute bludgeon fest. "Whiskey Wednesdays" clocks in at a mere 50 seconds and tactfully integrates a few subtle samples, which carries over into the unexpected "The Eye in the Sky" (basically a two-minute soundscape of quiet samples and subtle musical/atmospheric textures). "The King is Very Dead" cuts things up a little more with some stuttered time signatures, which continues a bit more powerfully in "Glass Ceilings >> This Lane Only" along with a few more tangible hints at melody (briefly). The production kicks ass too, giving them another boost. Everything is crystal fucking clear with tons of heaviness. The bass tone makes itself known, the drums are full and resonant, the guitars are thick and have a good grit to 'em, and the vocals fall right in line with the instrumentation in the heart of it all. I don't think I'd change anything at all, for what they're doing this is the sound. The design here keeps things minimal but highly effective, layering diagrams of military aircraft with text effects and solid blocks of color/spatters that all looks pretty cool, not to mention consistent. Lyrically the tracks are abstract and personal, and I like how they pull it off. "This life is bigger than Jesus. And you will know my name when you see it on the waistband of underwear you only wish you could afford..." All in all this is definitely one that fans of this style should check out. I'm still not blown away by their songwriting yet, but the quality of the recording and performances places them near the top of the heap for this stuff, and the progression they've made is definitely evident. (7/10)
Running time - 30:36, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: Old World Vulture, Whiskey Wednesdays, Glass Ceilings >> This Lane Only]
Level-Plane Records - http://www.level-plane.com

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