Punishable Act "Anti-Vision" CD
[Hardboiled]
This is the first time I've heard this German band, but they've been around for more than 10 years at this point. They basically play heavy old school hardcore, at times getting into a more melodic side that brings in some melody musically and vocally (most of the vocals are yelled, but there's a touch of singing in there at times). "Lie of Democracy" features Freddy and Hoya from Madball and is a bit heavier than the other tracks, whereas songs like "Don't Cross My Way" break out the melodic lead lines and slightly catchier frameworks. As far as the production, it's fine. It's not perfect, but it's not bad. The mix is pretty balanced, nothing jumps out at me as problematic, and so on. Visually things could be stronger, though. Aside from a few black and white photos everything is done in high contrast black, white, and red, and it's not that exciting. Most of the imagery consists of the band posing in front of graffiti covered walls and stuff, and I'm not into the lyrics at all. A lot of times I can't really tell what they're trying to get at, aside from the obvious "don't mess with us" thing and a few generic attempts at attacking the political spectrum. It all feels a little postured to me, though. "I don't give a fuck for your conduct, I'm a real punk rock kid, Hardcore style it's what I like, I'm an underdog..." I like this, but I liked it a little more before I read the lyrics. I don't know, I'm just not into their macho attitude, and the whole thing sort of comes off as cheesy to me. Usually I can deal with that, but in this case the music isn't strong enough to make me want to ignore it, and the lyrics are a little over the top and unintentionally goofy. Not awful, but it's a shame they don't have more to offer. It's bands doing things of this nature that in my opinion often give the European scene as a whole a bad reputation. There's far more better bands offered up by the European scene than these guys, so thankfully they don't seem to be making much of a name for themselves even after all this time. (4/10)
Running time - 24:32, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: Anti-Vision, Lie of Democracy]
Hardboiled - http://www.hardboiled-music.com

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