Go it Alone "The Only Blood Between Us" CD
[Rivalry]
Hell yeah, this is killer hardcore from Canada with fairly unique yelling vocals that have a dry, raspy midrange edge; while the music combines a modern take on the old school formula with a little added heaviness and some emphatic melody that really carries a lot of power. Just check out the incredible dissonant chords and post-hardcore textures towards the end of "A Constant Refrain"! There are a lot of bands of this nature starting to rise to the surface lately (few as good as these cats), in that they're basically still taking a framework of fast old school hardcore chord progressions to build from, but they're adding in enough creativity and guitar layering to where the end result is arguably somewhat removed from the traditional sound of the genre, though at the same time you can't really deny that this is true hardcore that sticks to the roots. So there are probably some people that would inaccurately toss this off as standard youth crew hardcore, and others who would misconstrue it as overly contemporary experimentation with outside influences. But the reality of the situation is that all of the above characteristics are involved to some degree, and the end result kicks ass, so I don't give a fuck about anything beyond that! "Nothing Gold" is one of the longer tracks and throws in some fucking badass arpeggiated riffs interspersed with chunky picking patterns and a few quick stops and octave chords; and what about the incredible intro to "Faith and Fiction", which takes up damn near half the track to build in with harmonics and midpaced rhythms behind discordant layers before blowing up into a relatively stripped down scorcher? Sign me up for more of that, kids. And tracks like the succinct and fast paced "Water Finds its Own Level" toss in lots of ripping little picking patterns and quick stops/chord shifts that are eerily reminiscent of the brand of thrashy "pop-punk" that bands like Propagandhi exhibit, and I'm an immense fan of that shit - which really adds a constant sense of energy to several of the cuts on this disc. "Shallow Breathing" is among the more straightforward and in your face hardcore tracks that keeps the added nuances to a bare minimum, which is somewhat rare with this record. The sound quality kicks ass as well. Everything is clear and full, with a balanced mix. I don't think I have any complaints at all. The guitars are nice and open with enough crunch for the rhythms and enough brightness for the melodic tinges, the bass is always there right between the guitars and drums, the vocals don't overpower, and the drums are clear and taut without taking it too far. Nicely done. Also impressive is the layout, which blends rundown buildings and live band shots printed in shitloads of metallic silver ink with a consistent appearance across the board. All of the lyrics are included along with occasional quotes of interest that apply additional insight into the content of certain tracks, which deal with fairly common personal issues for the most part, but are as sincere and honest as the tone and power of the music would dictate: "Don't search for solace in another's embrace. Everyone that we hold so dear gets lost in the static of the passing years. So learn to be alone. Find comfort in solitude. Harden your heart and build unbreakable will. It's the only way you'll ever survive this world." Damn. I've gotta say, I've really liked a lot of what I've heard from Rivalry Records in the last couple of years, and with these most recent releases (Go it Alone and Allegiance, that is) they've started to give a lot of the other hardcore labels of this general nature some stiff motherfucking competition, so they'll be the best god damn hardcore label out there if they keep up this level of quality. This is exactly what hardcore needs, because every time I get tired of the same old same old, it takes bands like this to up the ante just enough to really kick things in the ass and offer a different perspective without going over the edge. This record fuckin' rules, plain and simple. Two enthusiastic thumbs up from me, guys. This is the best hardcore record I've heard all year. (9/10)
Running time - 30:00 (approximately), Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: A Constant Refrain, Evelyn, Nothing Gold, Faith and Fiction, Nobody But You]
Rivalry Records - http://www.rivalryrecords.com

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