Another quick one from Lights Out, cranking out 11 tracks of pissed off mid- to late-80's sounding old school hardcore in less than 17 minutes, and here sounding just a touch angrier than on their past efforts, despite letting just a little bit of a rocked out undercurrent seep into some of the songwriting. "Pass You By" makes great use of pounding basslines and memorable vocal patterns; "Learned Nothing" is a no nonsense slab of textbook hardcore; the instrumental "No Way" takes a slower, heavier stance that somehow reminds me of early Cro-Mags on some level (and you can never lose with that); while the vocal performance in "The Top" carries with it a little more attitude that definitely works to add some spice to the writing; and "Consequence" is by far the longest song at nearly three minutes, using slower chord progressions that to me kind of nod to Negative Approach's darker moments. Nice. The production still has a little hint of rawness to it, and again that works in the band's favor. It's especially beneficial in adding a dry, bitter hoarseness to the yelling vocals; whereas I wouldn't mind hearing a little more of a fluid warmth to the rhythm section to help balance out some of the grit to the guitar tone. For the most part they've done well for themselves, but a little more oomph wouldn't hurt anyone, you know? The cover art is quite atypical of modern hardcore, using an almost comic book styled illustration done in black and white with no text whatsoever, while elsewhere it's nothing but tons of live band shots and the lyrics - which tend to focus solely on the blanket topic of being pissed off, rather than specific little commonalities like getting stabbed in the back, or staying true to hardcore, and so on (granted those types of ideas are still hinted at here). "Fall into your trap, I'm smarter than that, Your fucking lies, your dirty schemes, I'll never let you beat me..." This isn't the most diverse or interesting EP I've ever heard, but these guys are indeed solid at what they have to offer, and this kind of thing could appeal to old school hardcore fans as well as those more into the rocked out side of a lot of the bands on the Manic Ride label or what have you, so... I don't think this band has reached their highpoint yet, but there are some strong songs here.
[Youngblood]
Running time - 16:42, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: Pass You By, Just Like You, No Way, The Top, Consequence]
Youngblood Records - http://www.youngblood-records.com
