Rifles at Recess "To Whisper in Tongues" CD
[Tribunal]
Ahhh well. Despite the goofy band name I was hoping this one would be good, but alas, it's generic modern metalcore with shitloads upon shitloads of tremolo picking Swedish death metal riffs, the occasional mosh part, scathing high-pitched vocal screams (with the occasional growl or spoken part), etc. Admittedly the dual guitar harmonies and lead lines are a lot better than average, but that can't save the record as a whole - especially with songs running an average of four to five minutes. And yeah, they do mess with some crazy go nuts riffs sometimes, which doesn't add anything to the songs either. What they do best is moderately paced rhythms and thick dual guitar harmonies. Get rid of all the tremolo picking, get rid of the generic dissonant chords and stuttering rhythms, keep up the vocal variation, and maybe you'd have more to go on. The production's alright, but needs work. The drums are, of course, too rigid, I can't hear any bass guitar at all, and the guitar tone is weird because sometimes it sounds really fucking heavy, and sometimes it sounds sort of thin and has a ragged bite to it. I do enjoy the fact that the vocals are mixed way back in with the guitars. They need to beef up the drums and work out something with the guitar tone, though. I love some of the artwork here. The color scheme and layered textures of wings and such really looks awesome, and everything is arranged in a compact manner that works out nicely. I'm not that taken by the lyrics, but I can't help but chuckle at the following ridiculous statement that acts as one of the songs' "explanations": "People will often spread untrue and ridiculous rumors only to promote their own self worth. Most often times these are people we know and trust. I have been guilty of this myself and for that I have apologized. When things get out of hand however and violent words turn into violent actions, well, plainly put... we'll kick your ass." I hope that last part is supposed to be somewhat sarcastic since the other song explanations are far more serious, but I honestly can't tell... This isn't all that bad, but it's really boring and really stale, and I get so damn tired of hearing tremolo picking for like 65% or more of a CD's duration. With a slightly better sound and streamlined songwriting this band could possibly kick some ass, but... I guess until then, they'll only "kick your ass" if you "turn violent words into violent actions". (5/10)
Running time - 37:00 (approximately), Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Heroes vs. Harlots, I Died Twenty Times in 1986, Here's to Broken Boys]
Tribunal Records - http://www.tribunalrecords.com

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