Stampin' Ground "A New Darkness Upon Us" CD
[Century Media]
Holy shit! This longstanding UK act can barely call themselves a hardcore band anymore, and that ain't a bad thing, because this record fuckin' rips! The production was handled by Andy Sneap, so even though some of the percussion is still overly rigid and clicky, the guitar tone is pretty vicious, and everything sounds good. All they need to do in order to completely annihilate everything is turn up the damn bass and start using natural drum tones. But fuck it. Be not confused by the clean intro, because this record is chock full of mid-80's Slayer riffs and some thrashy rhythmic chunks that are reminiscent of Lamb of God's latest effort... as well as some crushing breakdowns and vocal arrangements that are undeniably drawn from the band's hardcore roots. The first chunk of "Behind the Light" sounds almost identical to something that could've been on the new Hatebreed record, but like most of these tracks the song runs more than four minutes and ends up becoming more than a few chugga chugga power chords tossed together - complete with some strangely melodic chords and a total old school thrash vibe on occasion. Then there's the Madball-esque "Killer of Society" with its rhythmic vocal patterns and basic grooves, venturing into "Destroy the Machines" era Earth Crisis territory with the more metallic riffs. You can't lose with this one, they're hitting all the bases. The layout is the best yet from this band, it's really consistent and professional with crisp text, nice visuals, etc. The lyrics are pissed as hell too, dealing with some personal issues as well as larger scale topics as far as the state of the world/society, and so on. "A thousand churches haunted by Jesus Christ, A world where madness and grief is commonplace, How can I blame you for clinging to your misplaced faith? Do you honestly think that you've seen the light? A thousand churches possessed by Jesus Christ, A world where madness is spread through our grace, How can I blame you for clinging to your misplaced faith? A short time to live, A long time to wait..." I really like this record a lot. It's a little bit long for what it has to offer, they could've shaved a little fat off and stripped down a few moments, but it doesn't really matter. This band has been ignored in the US for far too long, and if this record doesn't get them more attention over here then the bulk of this country is more fucking ignorant than I ever imagined. Get this. (8/10)
Running time - 46:51, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: Killer of Society, Bear the Scars, Betrayal Has a Face, Unmarked Grave]
Stampin' Ground - http://www.stampin-ground.com

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