Still Crossed "Love and Betrayal" CD
[Indecision]
Not too shabby. Fairly fast and melodic hardcore with a hint of metal peeking through every now and then. They've got an interesting blend happening because the chord progressions are energetic and basic, but they often layer melodic chords/passages over top of the rhythms, at times getting into chunkier territory or throwing around some metallic picking patterns. Vocally it's just straight, hoarse yelling with your standard gang backup shouts. "Lines in the Sand" even starts out with clean guitars and gradually brings in distortion with a much slower and more openly melodic chord progression - very surprising. It gets slightly more intricate after that as well, as "Bloodwork" gets more involved with some note-based riffing and melody reminiscent of Turning Point or something of that nature. "Holding Us Back" has some of the more effective heavy moments, without getting too simple or stripped down, keeping that memorable thread but definitely upping the aggression factor at times. I don't have any quarrels with the sound quality. The mix could be slightly more evened out, but everything sounds pretty damn good. It's clear and totally professional. The drums are a little rigid and the bass could be louder, but the end results are satisfactory and certainly above average. I think the layout looks good, especially the boldness of the front cover. A few photos are inside with all of the lyrics and plenty of blatant nods to straightedge. The content of the lyrics is pretty typical, but the way things are handled definitely seems sincere and a bit more involved than your average band: "I've seen too many of these roaming eyes and all the judgments, false assumptions that lay behind them. You think that you know us? You think that you know me? You've got it all figured out, who's sincere, who's gone in a year? Who the fuck do you think you are?" This isn't totally original or anything at this point, but they're leaning in that direction. They write great songs and have a knack for forceful performances, so I'm curious to see where they'll take it from here. The more I listen to this the more I like it, so check it out if it sounds like your thing. (8/10)
Running time - 23:55, Tracks: 13
[Notable tracks: Lines in the Sand, Bloodwork, For Old Times Sake, Holding Us Back]
Indecision Records - http://www.indecisionrecords.com

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