I didn't know what to expect from this but thankfully it's pissed off hardcore with a pretty straightforward sort of style that's not totally derivative or anything like that. Sure, you'll get your old school styled chord progressions, some midpaced breakdowns, a little early- to mid-80's speed and aggression, etc. But something about it's got a unique edge, partly due to the recording (which emphasizes the textured yelling vocals and a bright guitar tone), and also because the vocals are just all out yells with a lot of throatiness. The bass tone is really thick, and the drums sound good. It's a clear mix as well, I think a little bit of a thicker guitar sound could be cool, but I really like the clear distortion they're using. I definitely think the vocals need to drop back a smidge though, because they're totally furious and don't need a lot of help jumping to the forefront, and right now they lean out front a little much, really taking away from some of the rhythm section's punch. "Est. 1996" is a short, pissed off, textbook hardcore track with more of a gruff and restrained vocal delivery; and the same goes for "What's the Point?"; while "Poseidon" opens with some out of place clean chords, but after a second or two shifts over into a set of discordant open chords that are slower and almost rocked out in a way, which is fucking awesome. "30 Seconds Over Rochester" is also slower, a little bit heavier, but make no mistake - there's no metal on this CD. Some of the tracks are older, from a 2002 session, and I sort of like those a little more because the vocals are mixed better and have a thicker attack. The layout's all done in black, red, and white with simple artwork, some handwritten text, and a really clean presentation of the lyrics. I kind of like the lyrics because they're honest and somewhat straightforward without being stripped down or anything, there's definitely a message. "I wonder how many of our 'enemies' thought these same thoughts or did they meet their ends with stoic calm or were their lives ripped screaming from bloody blistered fingers all it takes is one to be used and it's lights out for us all he who laughs last still gets fucked fuck it this is hardly a life do it drop the bomb." At less than 30 minutes the record still feels like it could've harnessed more power were it a tad shorter, but there are no bad songs, just a few that possess less energy. The last half of the record really starts to pick up though, and this thing closes with a bang. Good stuff.
[Grave Mistake]
Running time - 28:40, Tracks: 14
[Notable tracks: Poseidon, 30 Seconds Over Rochester, Est. 1996, What's the Point?, Perception]
Grave Mistake Records - [email protected]
