Here's the latest set of burly, moshy metallic hardcore tracks from Orange County's finest, which is an odd conundrum in and of itself. Why? Well, because on the one hand I could definitely see this record turning away some of the band's more hardcore oriented listeners, while at the same time it's not far off from the direction of their last record. Though, beyond that, it is different: More metallic, more diverse, and you can tell they're trying to branch out and mess with a few new things - just nothing that's terribly far removed from the general spectrum of crushing power chords and chugging picking patterns. Have they added in more melody to their approach? Nope. Are they sounding like more of a metal band these days? Ehhh, just a tad, but not particularly. Have they added in a few singing choruses to try to make the songs catchier or more palatable? Hell no! Check the band name, people, it's still Throwdown. Honestly, the most important factor in separating "Vendetta" from "Haymaker" is that the production is a shitload better this time around. They've still got a hint of an overproduced churn to the guitar tone, but everything is way heavier, way more polished, and way more powerful in that department. So for that, I commend them. Writing-wise there's definitely nothing herein that can hold a candle to "Hate for the Weak" (by far the band's greatest achievement, and one that will be difficult, if not impossible, to top), and there's not always a ton of differentiation from track to track, but there are some surefire winners - and oddly enough most of 'em are on the latter half of the disc. Early on it's mainly textbook Throwdown with cuts like "Speak the Truth" or the title track, while the slightly too grooved out "Burn" is among the only tracks that leans a little too far into that territory for me to stick with for its duration. But "Discipline" is among my favorites, opening with a cool pull-off run before bringing in a Phil Anselmo inflection to the vocals, which sort of highlights the surging Pantera circa "Far Beyond Driven" influence that permeates a decent amount of these songs. (Remember back when Pantera was being marketed as sort of a pre-"nu-metal" form of "nu-hardcore"? This is kind of like a more legitimate spin on that, since it's hardcore borrowing from metal.) "Give My Life" is simply among the catchier tracks, offering a straightforward blend of hardcore power chords and tactful grooves with a ripping lead break that comes pretty unexpected. Despite being one of the longer tracks, the quick little lead melodies and powerfully chunky rhythms of "The World Behind" are actually pretty god damn memorable as well, while the prominent bass runs and chugga chugga grooves heard in "Shut You Down" are about as effective as it gets without going overboard. "Annihilation (N.W.D.)" runs damn near six minutes, which is certainly almost twice as long as your average Throwdown tune, flirting with some slower, post-"Arise" sounding Sepultura stuff in addition to some way Zakk Wylde styled pinch harmonics - and that's fine, but I've gotta say, this one's definitely a lot longer than it needs to be, so it drags on... even if the drawn out melodic instrumental passage near the tail end does kick ass. Ironically, "This is Where it Ends" then closes things out at less than two minutes with a mix of contemporary metalcore thrashiness and some staccato rhythms that are so "Chaos A.D." it almost hurts! Visually this one's quite similar to the last disc, just with less color. So expect lots of big, bold photography, lots of artistically arranged blank space granted to either deep blacks or metallic gold, tiny text that's still crisp and easily legible, etc. The lyrics? Hatred, friendship and loyalty, lies and betrayal, fighting for what you believe in and refusing to give in, and so on. The usual. There are a couple of straightedge sounding songs without blatantly stating as much, and one track deals more with the pitfalls of religion as opposed to personal turmoil and all that, so... they're not rewriting the book with this stuff, you know? Also included is a bonus DVD that runs about 15 minutes and mainly includes interview footage with the band regarding the recording of the new record and all that jazz. It's a little short, and it can be a sort of strange to see these guys talk about this music as if it's a bit more lofty and creative than it actually is, but it's still entertaining. And I have to say, much like the "Together, Forever, United" DVD, these guys really come across as likeable, down to earth dudes that don't really fit the stereotypical mold cast onto a lot of these types of bands, and that's definitely something I can appreciate in how they handle themselves. When all is said and done this isn't some huge benchmark release for Throwdown, or the hardcore genre, or anything like that - it's just a solid slab of hardass music. Yes, they're moving forward, and yes, they're starting to explore new realms. But again, they're doing so at a comfortable pace, so... if you're not some hardcore purist and you liked their last disc, there's very little reason not to dig these jams as well.
[Trustkill]
Running time - 39:26, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: Discipline, Give My Life, The World Behind, Shut You Down]
Throwdown - http://www.throwdowngo.com
