Alove for Enemies "The Harvest" CD
[Facedown]
After an unnecessary intro using synths and feedback these dudes crank out some midpaced metallic hardcore with nasty midrange vocal screams and a crisp recording that allows the chunky chord progressions to unload plenty of mosh. There's a little bit of melody involved, but it's usually just octave chords or other such dissonant textures adding to the more straightforward power chords, with the vocals letting up for some spoken passes or vague hints at "singing" in rare instances. The writing keeps things consistent and sticks with tempos that are right down the line, not too slow, definitely not fast, etc. They just run through a few riffs with a good sense for transitioning and throwing in a couple of nice panning effects for some of the dual guitar interaction. Some of the stuff does sound sort of typical, but it's not a NYHC style at all, nor is it in that forced groovy vein or anything, so... it's kind of like a modern take on the 90's style of churning E chord mayhem, you know? "The Hour of Decision" is a little more melodic and borders on being "catchy" (for lack of a better term, it's not that melodic), with "Thieves in the Crowd" taking a similar road but tossing in a bit more of a groove to the chord progressions (tactfully so, mind you). "Son of the Morning" is my personally favorite, immediately jumping out with simple, no frills heaviness that hits a little more forcefully and immediately than the other material. Good stuff. As mentioned the sound is really crisp, so despite minor little flaws it sounds good. The bass tends to get lost in the shuffle and the drums have that modern rigidity happening, but thankfully there's enough density to make do. And the guitar tone is fucking awesome. The distortion is very well harnessed to let plenty of crunchiness in for the rhythms while allowing some of the lightly melodic accents to be brighter and more out front. The vocals sound pretty tight as well. So overall I'm certainly not complaining, it's nice and clear. The layout's consistent and uses some deep red coloring with solid live shots of the band alongside the lyrics. The content's 50/50 for me, as some of the lines like, "It's time to rise and fight for Christ," are way too in your face for non-christians to really deal with, but then there are a lot of other tracks that, while still sort of casting the blame for inner turmoil and world strife on a lack of faith, take a much more open road that still makes the band's point without being alienating: "Should I live or die, I can't decide, contemplating my life, should I end it all myself, Taking it all away from me, and save myself from this bitterness and pain..." Not bad overall. Concise and to the point. I like it. (7/10)
Running time - 31:23, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: The Hour of Decision, Thieves in the Crowd, Son of the Morning]
Facedown Records - http://www.facedownrecords.com

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