Knuckledust "Universal Struggle" CD
[Gangstyle]
Cool, thankfully this is better than their last record because the recording is better. I really wanted to like their previous full-length but I couldn't handle the sound. There are some minor issues this time around in that department, but for the most part it sounds like it should. The drums aren't too rigid to be a distraction, the bass is back there, the guitar tone is strong, and the vocals sound awesome. The vocals are just a really unique lower midrange shout/yell, and I love that. I think more natural drums would blend in better with the guitars/bass, and also add more density, but for the most part I'd leave this alone other than that. For those unaware, this London act cranks out killer NYHC styled metalcore with a good dose of bitter attitude and lots of crunchy rhythms. It's nothing new or innovative by any means, but they're good at what they do. Faster tracks like "Trust No One" are definitely in your face, still dropping some pounding breakdowns; "Rise From This" is classic metallic hardcore; and "Disarm" drops tons of slow chugga chugga type stuff that gets more discordant and metallic than the other songs. That's definitely one of the positives about this record: They keep the tempos mixed up, so there's a good dose of speed, plenty of midpaced rhythms, and then the brutal mosh stuff that the kids all love. For the most part I like the layout. The colors are vibrant and the photos are nice (I especially like the slivers of grimy cityscapes inside the booklet), but I do think the "logo" on the cover looks crappy and the font used for the lyrics and most of the other text is too busy. They went a little overboard there, a cleaner, simple font would've looked a lot nicer and made things smoother for reading. The lyrics aren't totally typical, but they're fairly general, bitterly lashing out against the hardships and trials of day to day life and all that. I'm really glad these cats nailed a better recording this time out, because they've always deserved more attention and a better overall presentation of their music, so now they're finally on that path. (7/10)
Running time - 30:31, Tracks: 13
[Notable tracks: Trust No One, Scarred, Rise From This, 25 Years Dead]
Gangstyle Records - http://www.gsrmusic.com

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