Takaru "There Can Be Only None" CD
[Alone]
This is metallic hardcore/punk with a screamo sort of thing going on. Lots and lots of vocal layering and tradeoffs between high-end screams and gruffer shouts, a few quick and chunky rhythms interspersed with more metallic riffs and a lot of faster chaotic chords and dissonant textures, etc. The songs are short and to the point, none topping three minutes, but I must confess that a lot of the writing is a little too frantic for me. They're okay, but it's not really grabbing me that much. I'm not into the higher screams and all of the vocal tradeoffs, but the slightly deeper vocals are really good. Musically I don't like the really fast blasts or tremolo picking riffs at all - I hate them in fact. But the slower and more focused rhythms, as well as the sparse use of clean passages or solo distorted bass are really quite strong at times. "Ring Bearer" is one of the longest tracks and most effectively blends the band's styles together with a cohesive, forceful sense of direction. Were all the songs along these lines I'd appreciate it a lot more. "Idnnitkhtr", an instrumental, is heavy as fuck, plodding along with destructive rhythms for its duration. And "Charge it to Valhalla" is slower and driven by clean guitars and bass, blowing up with distortion during a few separate moments, and feeling far longer than two-and-a-half minutes... the best track herein, if you ask me. The recording is really good, it's just the mix that causes problems for me. The vocals are generally too loud, and I think the guitars need to drop back a bit as well to give the rhythm section more room to breathe. But everything is recorded with clarity and sounds nice otherwise. The clean guitars are shockingly thick and lush, and the distortion on the bass is absolutely awesome. The layout's pretty cool, but I wish they had expanded on the collage style of the cover art more throughout the entire booklet, as that looks pretty slick. The lyrics are all dead serious and deal with socio-political issues, each track including a lengthy song explanation along with its lyrics. It's all a little too idealistic for me, though I do agree with a good deal of it, and their approach is respectable for sure. Some of the topics include speaking your voice to call people out on their reprehensible actions, the faults of the prison system, the effects of business on agriculture, living in a debt based economy, etc. This one's a tough one, because I respect their message, they've got the recording damn near where it should be, and a handful of the songs would've made an excellent 7", but all in all I don't see myself listening to this again because a number of songwriting elements stack up against a few prominent strengths. If you like a lot of really abrasive and discordant material that plays with speed and angular tempos, you should get into this, as it's not so bad for what it is. But I'd like to see the band shape up a little bit to hone in on what they do best. (5/10)
Running time - 20:24, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: Ring Bearer, Idnnitkhtr, Charge it to Valhalla]
Alone Records - http://www.alonerecords.com

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