R.A.M.B.O. "Bring It!" LP
[Havoc]
Whoa, whoa, whoa! I do not remember R.A.M.B.O. as having been this melodic or energetic at all!? I don't know, but whatever the case, this is a lot better than I was anticipating. Basically what you're in for here are a slew of short, fast hardcore/punk tracks with a lot of melody in the form of energetic lead lines and quick bursts, while the vocals are fairly harsh screams that keep things sounding aggressive alongside a crushing dose of crusty power. The songwriting's really damn catchy, though. I'm quite blown away, because this sounds a lot different to me than what I remember having heard from the band in the past, and quite honestly a lot of the music flirts with some of the "pop-punk" sorts of riffing that a band like, say, Strike Anywhere is known for, it just tends to be faster and heavier to keep things sounding pretty up front and in your face. The delivery is totally nonstop though, it's just a barrage of song after song after song with plenty of diversity and absolutely no room for taking a breather. After a quick blast of catchy and melodic tracks like the awesome opener, "The War of Self Esteem", a slower intro sees "Goose Music" drop into a driving, crusty sort of rhythm that leads into the more straightforward and stripped down "Atkins' America", which cranks out a quick rock lead near the end; and then "Wage Slave Mercenaries" uses some dissonant riffing to spice things up over another crusty rhythmic surge that's sort of like a more melodic and tangible spin on a Swedish approach. Some of that continues in the darker and borderline Amebix-esque intro to "Rarity Unto Death"; while "Bring It!" almost sounds like it could be a Skitsystem track or something!? And talk about contrast, the next track, "Godless Freedom Fighters", has more of a rocked out swagger at the start before a pounding bass break and some straight up three-chord hardcore. "That Lump in Your Throat" reverts back to the fast yet super melodic attack of the first few tracks, tossing around lots of octave chords and lead melodies for added texture; while the ironic "Sophomore Effort" forces things to become a little more intentionally formulaic in sound as its lyrics mock bands who tone down their message in order to reach a higher level of success once they feel they've "paid their dues". The recording was handled by Kurt Ballou and of course sounds pretty damn good. The mix seems a touch muddy and I'd prefer it were the vocals mixed a little closer in against the music, but for the most part the sound is pretty damn good. There's a little bit of dirtiness to the vocals that I also find to be a distraction, but a little bit of that ruggedness was probably intentional, and I always tend to feel that vinyl adds a hint of that as well, so I'd be curious to see if this sounds cleaner and clearer on CD. The layout looks pretty good and is fairly atypical of what most hardcore/punk records look like. The lyrics are printed on the black and white inner paper sleeve and often deal with maintaining dedication to the struggles and causes often championed by the punk scene, as well as other socio-political issues ranging from religion and the environment to police brutality and war. However, all of the content is delivered from a very personal perspective that, while straightforward and succinct, strays from the often hollow and generic diatribes of the genre: "I accepted long ago that this is a lost cause, but still I go on without hope. I'm not living for a dream, disillusion has been beaten out of me. My country is frightening, it spites the world. And if we all get blown up, we'll get what we deserve." Also included is a killer full-length DVD that probably runs about 90 minutes or so (for some reason there's no counter while playing the DVD), including both live and offstage footage from the band's 2003 European tour as well as the 2004 Australian/Southeast Asian tour. There are also a couple of random extras, as well as a slew of live performances from crazy locations like Malaysia and Indonesia, among others, so there's a shitload of content to keep you entertained there, and the genuine sincerity in some of the kids from these countries is just fucking awesome. This is a really solid and surprising LP. I'm a little taken aback by the unexpected shift the band's sound seems to have taken, but I'm definitely liking it, and if this is a sign of what's to come, their next record could be a real fuckin' whopper. Good work. (7/10)
Running time - 25:00 (approximately), Tracks: 19
[Notable tracks: The War of Self Esteem, If Our Leaders Are Impotent Only the People Can Rise, Wage Slave Mercenaries, Rarity Unto Death, The Curse of Philadelphia, Roll Over and Die]
Havoc Records - http://www.havocrex.com

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