I guess this is a demo of sorts, judging by the brief running time and rough production anyway. These guys play fast hardcore with a definite influence from the harder side of the old school sound. It's nothing new, but they're not bad at what they do from a writing standpoint. The songs are short and to the point, containing a good mix of tempos, ample changes, and plenty of aggression with no metal. The vocals are straightforward yells that have a little bit of a Youth of Today ring to 'em every now and then. On rare occasion there are hints of melody to some of the chord progressions, but just barely... And yep, they close with a cover of SSD's "Glue". I think I've heard that song covered at least 100 times now, but what the hell, it is a great song after all. The one thing that really holds this back is the recording, which in my opinion is pretty shitty considering that the release looks somewhat professional and the songs are really solid. The drums are distant and sort of muffled, the guitars are dirty and sort of fall into a mess with the other instruments, and the vocals are too dominant in the mix. I do love the distorted bass tone though, I just wish is more consistently central. I think that this style of hardcore works best with a sound that's not too polished, but this really sounds like a tolerable demo rather than a proper CD EP or anything, so... consideration in that area would be commendable. The presentation is well handled for a self-released effort as far as having good print quality, etc. But I hate the cover design. I don't know, the layout as a whole needs work, but I can deal with everything except the silly photo of the singer on the cover, complete with basic and unnecessary Photoshop effects. Lyrically a lot of the songs revolve around general hardcore topics such as the scene, being positive, friendship, and all that jazz. There's one song speaking out against drug abuse and another that briefly deals with the media, but everything else is textbook hardcore that you've seen a million times before. A better recording would make a world of difference for this band. Great songs, poor delivery. I won't rule them out for kicking out some raging jams down the road, though.
[self-released]
Running time - 16:14, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: Our Scene Too, Say Goodbye]
In Your Shadow - http://www.inyourshadow.com
