Drugs of Faith "2004 Promo" CD
[self-released]
Here's an incredibly brief promo from the latest project of former Enemy Soil/The Index/Triac grinder Richard Johnson, and it's actually something a little different than what most people might expect. Is it grindcore? Sure, on some level. Probably at its base, perhaps? Though the focus here is thankfully not on senseless speed in the least. Opener "No Sense of Occasion" definitely plows through some intense blasts, but there's also some subtle classic hardcore/punk in there, as well as some caustic Black Flag-esque guitar work in brief snippets... and what about the way the song slows down and gets a little sludgy towards its close? "So Be It" follows and is shorter, though it feels a little longer with its twisted dissonant rhythms and crunchy chord progressions with a much more forceful midpaced tempo driving its core. Both of these songs are rough mixes so the output levels are pretty quiet and the sound feels a little too raw to do justice to the music, but I can live with that. Things can be overly rugged and somewhat distant at times, definitely sounding like they might have been recorded live in the studio, but you can basically make out all of the instruments, and I like the way the vocals are flat out shouted without going for anything too forcedly "extreme". "No Sense of Occasion" is gonna be on a self-titled EP coming out on Reptilian Records, while "So Be It" will appear on a forthcoming split 7" with Anodyne, so we'll see how the final versions sound in the end. The CD-R comes in a basic xeroxed sleeve with no real artwork to speak of, just text to get the contact information and whatnot out there. Nothing pretty, but hey, the damn promo's only four minutes long, so fuck it! I'm guessing this demo (of sorts) leaves a slightly-rougher-than-reality impression of the band upon the listener, but I'm into the framework of the songwriting so I'm looking forward to hearing more as it develops. (7/10)
Running time - 3:56, Tracks: 2
[Notable tracks: both are cool but I prefer "So Be It"]
Drugs of Faith - http://www.drugsoffaith.cjb.net

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