Here's a collection CD from this band featuring former members of Sutek Conspiracy and Scrotum Grinder, among others. Included are 12 tracks of highly metallic hardcore punk with a crusty edge, but when I say "metallic" don't necessarily think of the dirge-y sort of dissonant, pounding rhythms you might associate with such styles, instead think something more along the lines of Iron Maiden/melodic Swedish death metal, as there's a lot of tremolo picking and a good number of dual guitar harmonies. The searing midrange vocal screams are definitely something a little different against this music, though. The first six tracks were on their self-titled LP, a couple more from a split 7" with Kylesa, and then the final four songs are unreleased. Honestly, while I like this for the most part, the tremolo picking riffs bother me. They're usually the weak link in otherwise powerful tracks that mess with a bit more creativity. That style has become so stale that it's really hard to make those types of riffs work when they take precedence somewhat frequently. For example, "The Children's Crusade" opens with soft bass and clean guitars but then reverts into tons of tremolo picking chords/notes that lack the feeling suggested by the intro. I far prefer the diversity of "Jewel in the Lotus", which shifts between varying tempos, acoustic breaks, and some really energetic rhythms that stand out against the rest of the material. "Drink From Thy Lead Decanter" is a brief acoustic instrumental (not bad at all), leading into the crunchy punch of "Dirt Roads and Howls of Wolves", which has more of a 90's European metalcore flare to it than the other tracks. As far as the recording goes, they've got a really nice texture to the guitar tone, it's a little rough, but also really clear, which allows all of the textural details to shine through. The bass plays a pretty good role but could be more prominent, but I definitely think the vocals are perfectly placed just behind the guitars, and the percussion sounds fine to me. The performances, especially on guitar, get a little too choppy for me at times and could stand to be more fluid (speaking in regards to the more metal side of things, the caustic passages make sense being looser), but for the most part things are alright. The layout keeps it fairly simple using minimal artwork, lots of band photos, lyrics, etc. Everything is done up in black, red, and metallic silver, so it looks pretty cool. The lyrics are introspective and deal with emotional topics in a fairly open manner that doesn't get so pinpointed that there's no room for interpretation, and I like that. "Let the earth rumble again so we can watch the birds scatter. I learned from my scars, they are proof that my past hasn't passed, they are there for a reason. Let's find a reason for all this mess..." In the end, this is good, but not great. It's a little boring, and after a few listens the choppy guitar parts can start to get to me. Were they to tighten their playing and spread out the diversity from "Jewel in the Lotus" they'd be in a better position.
[Hyperrealist]
Running time - 31:46, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: Drink From Thy Lead Decanter, Dirt Roads and Howls of Wolves, Jewel in the Lotus]
Hyperrealist - http://www.hyperrealist.com
