I caught this band live quite some time ago and was pretty into their style, so I was glad to see this disc show up since I didn't know they had recorded anything. This material is definitely flawed to a degree, so it needs work, but the core of what I enjoyed about their work is definitely represented here. It's basically a mix of melodic Swedish styled riffing with hoarse vocal snarls and some chunkier riffing ala Lamb of God and some of the more contemporary spins on rhythmic thrash. But these guys spice it up even more with some really overtly melodic chords and dissonance that kind of defies categorization, as well as some noisier textures that almost have a weird sort of post-hardcore thread on rare occasion. Where I think it's flawed is that the writing can lose its focus sometimes, so even though the songs are rather short, some of the riffs aren't as strong as others, with a few getting quite obnoxious (the pinch harmonics in "Let the Ruin Rise", for example) or simply leaning too far towards a generic dual guitar harmony style. Thankfully most of the chord phrasings are more interesting than average, so there's a lot of promise to the riffs. "Messiah" is definitely the most streamlined and energetic track, and I think that's the direction the band ought to head in. "Promises Whispered" is another keeper that falters once or twice with more unnecessary pinch harmonics, but its use of melodic chords is more creative and interesting. Another setback is the recording, though. It's definitely tolerable, but it does sound like a demo more than anything. The vocals are a little thin and inch out front too much (honestly the vocal approach can get a little irritating at times), the drums are a little muddy and can get lost, the bass is generally really hard to make out, and the guitar tone is not quite heavy enough. They're on the right track, the production and mix are competent, but they need a slightly fuller and more polished sound to really do themselves justice. The CD comes in a black and white slipcase with minimal artwork and text consisting mostly of abstract ink sketches and such. It's honestly not much to look at, but I've seen worse. The overall design is definitely on the fuzzy side, though. Lyrics aren't included and I'm not sure what to expect there. I'm guessing from titles like "Lipstick" and "When Blackness Weeps" that it's typical personal stuff, but who knows? The bottom line with this one is that there are some killer guitar riffs that are laying a good foundation for the band to grow from. It needs a little tightening and tweaking, but they're in a good starting position, so I'll be really interested to hear their future work.
[Pop Faction]
Running time - 18:28, Tracks: 6
[Notable tracks: Promises Whispered, Messiah]
Pop Faction - http://www.popfaction.com
