Despite "No Promise of Tomorrow" CD
[Crimes Against Humanity]
This band plays heavy, crusty hardcore/punk with gruff vocal growls, and while competent, they've just never won me over. I don't know. This is some of their better work, but it still comes off as a little boring to me. None of these songs really jump out at me, and many of them sound basically the same. "Misconception" is a little bit chunkier and has some cool vocal tradeoffs, "Dependence" is a little bit more energetic and uses some ultra thick and strangely melodic vocals/chords towards the end, and "Corrupted" is a plain ol' good song (killer break with just bass/drums/vocals), but nothing else really stands apart. The production is definitely raw, but I do like how the thickness of the rugged bass and guitars work together, it's definitely pretty heavy. The vocals are slightly overpowering at times, especially when doubled, but for the most part it sounds okay for what it is. The songwriting is more problematic than the sound, as this sound would work fine were the writing more in your face or memorable. I could go either way on the layout. It's all in black and white and looks presentable, but the lyrics are hard to read, and it's not very engaging on a visual level at all. The lyrics appear in both English and Spanish (unusual for an American band with no Spanish speaking members), taking a bleak road and often dealing with war or general suffering. "Face of death, Staring back at an empty world, Machines of war, Grinding down, Gorged on money, power, blood, No cares for living life, No hope for a better world, Inevitable war, Suffering poor, Starving children, Innocent victim." Not bad, just tiresome. I mean, it's definitely a hindrance when your record doesn't even top 20 minutes and still wears thin on the listener due to redundant riffing and a lack of overall creativity/power. (5/10)
Running time - 18:03, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: Misconception, Dependence, Corrupted]
Crimes Against Humanity Records - http://www.cahrecords.com

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