More heavy hardcore in the NYHC vein from this Albany band. I like this a bit better than their last disc if for no other reason than the recording is much thicker and more balanced. The drums are nice and natural with a good level of density, the bass tone is round as fuck and plays a good role in thickening things up, the vocals sound perfect to me, and the guitar tone is heavy without getting muddy or anything like that. There's still room for improvement, but I don't have any major complaints, and the sound isn't holding them back at all. Maybe give the bass some definition and mix the snare and cymbals evenly with the rest of the percussion, but beyond that I think they're okay for now. This is pretty self explanatory material. You've got your shorter old school styled tracks like "The List" that almost hint at a little bit of melody, you've got your tunes that bring the mosh such as "Fall Line", and so on. It's not the most memorable disc in the world, and there are a couple of songs that aren't as strong, but for the most part they take care of business. The vocals are raspy shouts with a higher sort of range going on, and I like the fact that they sound slightly atypical to some degree. Some of these tracks are re-recordings of songs from the EP as well, so it's cool to hear the improvements that have been made. I don't really care for the layout at all. The front cover seems that it would look alright if it weren't so dark, you can barely make out whatever's back there, and inside the fonts and photos just look a little out of whack. I like the handwritten text on the back cover, so it would've been cool if they used that throughout. The photos are also pretty weak, they're not that colorful or crisp at all (and not just because the edges have been burned), they just look like snapshots that someone quickly took at one of the band's shows or something. Lyrically it's all personal trials and tribulations, not particularly in the generic "you stabbed me in the back" vein, but still nothing new. They're getting better. I don't think they've reached their full potential yet, but soon enough I think they'll deal the killing blow...
[Thorp]
Running time - 27:00 (approximately), Tracks: 13
[Notable tracks: Fall Line, Worst of Times, Ashes]
Thorp Records - http://www.thorprecords.com
