Straighthate "Grim Memories" CD
[Blast Beat]
Damn, not bad. I've only heard a song or two from this Greek band before, but this EP drops six tracks of vicious, grinding material that seems to be built around a core of thrash metal and metalcore. There are tons of fast paced riffs with a lot of energy that are straight out of the late-80's thrash handbook, including the snarling vocals (which range from hoarse screams to fucked up midrange growls), and then there are lots of thicker chord progressions that have a midpaced sort of ultra heavy hardcore breakdown vibe. They really make good use of dual guitar parts as well, with some really cool layering and panning effects and riffs where the guitars work together while playing independently of one another. The blasting drumbeats and some of the tremolo picking definitely work to bring in a death/grind influence, but the songwriting - while perhaps a little lengthy at times - is definitely cohesive and memorable. I know the mentions of metalcore will throw a few people off, but the band refers to themselves as a hardcore band, whereas I would honestly classify them as metal almost entirely. I mean, "Guilt of Innocence" opens with a riff that could've easily been on Slayer's "Show no Mercy" - a record that seems to have influenced these guys more than a bit, not only because a few of their songs reference such styles, but because they close this EP with a cover of "Black Magic" (though the sound is a little rawer there, so it's not as fluid as the five original tracks). "Face of Weakness" is probably my favorite song because it's shorter and has some killer melodic chords that really add a sense of urgency to the piece. And the recording is great for an EP. The guitar tone is nice and chunky and has a good level of control to the palm-muting, the drums sound pretty good and hold enough resonance to keep the rhythm section in line, etc. I'm not catching much in the vein of basslines, and I think the vocals could use a little more clarity, but the mix and tones are solid otherwise. Hell, this sounds better than a good deal of what's out there on significantly larger labels, so... they've done well. The layout is a pretty chaotic blend of sketchy figurative images, bloody rags, and random dirty textures, with the lyrics taking a straightforward road and dealing with strength and perseverance and things of that nature. The inner spread of the sleeve is just artwork, sort of like a miniature poster or something. It looks okay as a whole, could be better, could be worse. It gets the job done. The CD-Rom portion of the disc contains seven live videos from a set recorded in November 2003. The quality's alright - not great, but watchable. It's not the most interesting thing I've ever seen, and the EP itself is a better representation of the band's talents, but that's cool, they made use of their space well. My main suggestion for these guys would be to shorten the songs just a bit to heighten the focus and maintain a consistent level of energy throughout. They've got a really good framework in place, though. Not bad at all. Watch out for 'em. (6/10)
Running time - 24:38, Tracks: 6
[Notable tracks: Face of Weakness, Puke Back the Blood of Christ]
Straighthate - http://www.straighthate.gr

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