Old school styled hardcore from Belgium with hoarse vocal screams and a good amount of energetic melody and added heaviness that give them a modern edge. Expect your usual moderately fast chord progressions, strong breakdowns, a few octave chords or more dissonant ringing sounds, etc. It's not something all that original, but they've got a lot of energy, strong songwriting skills, and a pretty damn good recording that keeps their material on point. The vocals are intense so they can get a little loud, and I'd like to hear more bass in the core of the mix, but all of the tones sound really good, so they've only got minor issues to work out. The layout looks nice and clean with all of the lyrics, a few small photos, etc. The cover art was handled by Mike Bukowski, and I have to say I'm finally getting really tired of seeing his art everywhere, especially here because the artwork doesn't seem to apply to the band's lyrical themes at all. The lyrics are basically pissed off and personal, there's nothing new there, but at the same time they're handled in a different sort of way at times, notably in "Shark Spangled Banner", which could be a more political song depending on how you look at it. I really like these songs, the record's over in a flash, but it's potent through and through. With time I think this band could be totally amazing. They remind me of a more aggressive Count Me Out or something of that general style. Look out for 'em.
[Anger Management]
Running time - 8:00 (approximately), Tracks: 6
[Notable tracks: Breathe Again, Black and Blue]
Anger Management Records - http://www.am-records.com
