Rag Men "s/t" CD
[Eulogy]
Finally! I've been waiting for this masterpiece ever since the moment I heard the demo, and sure enough it delivers. Everyone should know the lineup of this band by now: Jorge from Merauder on vocals, Mitts from Madball (ex-Skarhead) on guitar, Bulldog from Freya (ex-Earth Crisis) on bass (sometimes they've got Buske from The Promise on bass instead), and Rigg Ross from Madball (ex-Hatebreed) on drums. How can you lose? All three tracks from the demo are here in basically identical form, and every other song fucking kills too. Expect heavy metallic hardcore that's far more melodic than anyone would likely anticipate. There are bits and pieces that are slightly reminiscent of some of the members' previous efforts - namely Merauder and Madball - but just barely. The songwriting is memorable and pretty straightforward, but the chord formations are much thicker and more melodic than most any band of this nature would flirt with on a regular basis - it's not just straight mosh and simple, basic power chords. See "Warrior Soul" for a perfect example of that, as well as the slightly more rhythmic and involved "Obstacles". Hit up the creativity of the chord progressions and arpeggios during the chorus of "No Questions" while you're at it. But make no mistake, this is an aggressive record. There are no singing parts, there are plenty of breakdowns, a few of the picking patterns in "Tierra" get a little thrashy, etc. It's just a great set of songs that never lets up or gets stale. The recording is perfection to my ears. One or two songs (notably "Visions of You") are ever so slightly rawer in the mix, but everything sounds top notch. The drums have a nice snap to 'em with plenty of density and natural warmth, the bass tone is immense and peeks through perfectly, the vocals sound as good as ever, and the guitar tone is sheer genius when it comes to this style. Lots of crunch, lots of low-end, perfect clarity... fucking beautiful. The way the core of this record sounds should be the benchmark for pretty much the entire genre from this point on. No shit. Life would be far more enjoyable if most records had this exact recording/mixing job. The layout's mostly black and white with a few color band photos and blue and white lettering. Nothing crazy. Everything looks fine except the photo under the CD tray, which is crazy pixilated and honestly looks fucking terrible. I'm not sure what the deal is what that, but the quality is significantly worse than anything else herein. As far as the lyrics go, the songs are of course personal, and hit on the whole toughguy sort of thing from time to time, "You hate what we are, but still want a part of our lives. Didn't I tell you being real is something you cannot buy? You think you're living? Your living's a lie. You thought the world was yours, but it's all mine." I love this record. Hands down this will be one of the best of the year. I damn sure hope this bands continues to be a full band and not just a project, because this shit is just too good. Only eight tracks? I could've easily dealt with a handful more! Get this, suckers. (9/10)
Running time - 28:57, Tracks: 8
[Notable tracks: My World, Warrior Soul, Insomnia, Obstacles, No Questions, and the others as well]
Eulogy Recordings - http://www.eulogyrecordings.com

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