Cutdown "Invincible" CD
[Full House]
Hell yeah. More brutal metallic hardcore out of Finland on the awesome Full House label. This EP drops seven tracks in about 20 minutes with no fucking bullshit. Expect the usual fare as far as churning power chord rhythms, chugging picking patterns, sick breakdowns, burly growling/shouted vocals, and so on. It's nothing new, but it's heavy as hell and totally hits the spot. I'm all over this style when it's done right, and these guys are nailing it. Most of the songs run around two to three minutes and keep things moving along without a hitch. Just check out the no frills structure of "Hard to Forget" - you can't lose! "Pray for Heaven" uses just a little bit of melody with some octave chords and arpeggiated riffs, an approach also surfacing briefly in "Lies Upon Lies", but for the most part it's all totally in your face, and these little melodic snippets don't change that fact on any level. Occasionally they'll break into more of a metal riff with a quick All Out War sounding run, but by and large it's all mosh all the time. There's an unlisted track (maybe two, it's hard to tell since it all runs together) at the end of the disc after a few seconds of blank space, and it sounds very much like the band's original material, so I'm not sure if it's actually a cover or a re-recording of older pieces or what? The recording's pretty damn solid. The drums sound a little rigid and cut through the mix a bit, but the guitar tone is definitely nice and crunchy. I also really like the fact that the basslines don't simply mirror the guitar parts, they bounce back and forth between adding more rhythmic force and sort of wandering out on their own. The bass ought to be a little bit louder in the mix to make that element more obvious, but guitars and vocals are running the show and both sound good to me. The layout looks decent, all done in black and white with some bleak landscape images and plenty of band photos. It's a little cluttered at times but gets the job done. Lyrically the songs deal with your usual topics such as religious opposition and "stabbed in the back" kind of stuff, as well as revenge, perseverance, etc. "You got yourself fucked once again, Always talking shit, but never taking the blame..." You get the idea. Like I said, when this stuff is done right I'm all for it, and I'm a fan of this band for sure. I'm not kidding when I say that Finland is a fucking hotbed for this style of hardcore. Check it out. I hope these guys kick out a full-length sometime. (7/10)
Running time - 19:19, Tracks: 7
[Notable tracks: Pray for Heaven, Once a Friend, Hard to Forget]
Full House Records - http://www.fullhouserecords.com

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