First up here is Madeline Ferguson with what I guess could be called "screamo", but this is way more metal, and therefore way better than most of this stuff. It can be a little sloppy and out of tune at times, but they've got some strong tempo changes, a good sense of melody, and the screaming vocals are tame enough to work, not to mention that they throw in some nice aggressive singing as well. The blatant melody and clean guitars in "If it Hangs Up it's a Noose, If it Hangs Down it's a Tie" definitely make the song a keeper; and the sample in "Dio Said it Best: You're a Rainbow in the Dark" is really intense - possibly the best use of a sample I've ever heard... and an incredible song to boot. The recording is a little on the rugged side, but it's not bad. The mix is good, but my biggest problem is the bite on the guitar distortion and the fact that the bass is significantly out of tune with the guitars (which aren't quite in tune with one another themselves). If they had tuned up properly they'd be in decent shape, though. Lyrically they mix it up with both personal and political tracks, some of which are more interesting than others. "When the smell of French fries overpowers the smell of the bodies even the lessons learned will be fast fading memories you came to learn about the abuse of power when the smell of success covers the smell of the dead you'll know all you need to know..." Good stuff. I wish they had tuned, though. I'm officially irritated by the weird dissonance created by the clashing instruments there. Bury Me Standing is up next with a far more raw and abrasive sort of take on a similar style of music to what Madeline Ferguson offers, though they also lack the melody. I like their dual male/female vocal attack, but the recording is too muddy and rough around the edges, and the songwriting isn't that memorable. There's a ton of dissonance, a lot of frantic drumming and erratic changes... it's not bad, but the dirty sound and messy mix cloud what they're doing and lose a lot of detail, so I can't really get into a good portion of the tracks. The slower rhythms, clean guitars, and singing vocals in "Like Flies to Shit" are definitely cool, though. Most of the lyrics are pretty political, but I like the delivery. "The call is always deafening and the gap is always widening this is not the first time we bury the future as they take our promises to the grave it's everyday for those less valuable and it will not be the last sooner or later the disenfranchised will always bite the hand that strangles." The disc comes in a gatefold digipack with the booklet in one side and the CD in the other. Everything is in black and white and looks sort of plain, but it's really only the booklet that looks too chaotic. The way the text is laid over collaged band photos is too busy and jumbled, which contrasts the clean and simple appearance of the actual digipack. This is a cool split. I think Bury Me Standing split up, but I'd like to hear more from Madeline Ferguson...
[Slave Union/Oneohfive]
Running time - 30:04, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: If it Hangs Up it's a Noose, If it Hangs Down it's a Tie, Dio Said it Best: You're a Rainbow in the Dark, Like Flies to Shit, Dead Air]
Oneohfive Records - http://www.oneohfive.com
