Okay, one question: If you're going to put out a compilation of four brutal hardcore/metalcore bands from The Netherlands, why the fuck would you call it something stupid like "Trolleycore" and put it in some stupid package with crappy cartoon drawings of a bus "burning rubber" or whatever? This thing looks completely terrible and the artwork/aesthetic has nothing in common with the music whatsoever. Horrible decision. Now, the music. Labrat opens up with some really chunky metalcore based around basic grooves with plenty of thick, dissonant chord progressions. Musically it's pretty damn promising and there are some sick rhythms (as long as they stray from the overly groovy shit), but I don't like the vocals at all. Sometimes they get sort of a cheesy and ineffective hip-hop flare going on, and most of the midrange grunts are powerless and don't really match the force of the music. Eyepatch is up next with a more metal based attack that has some faster areas mixed with chugging breakdowns and over the top vocal yells. It's not really in the derivative Swedish death metal style, but there is some tremolo picking and such more reminiscent of the 90's style of European metalcore. Again I'm not that big on the vocals because there's a strange throatiness present that feels forced, but I can deal with it. Curb is far more discordant and chaotic, with scathing screams, faster tempos, noisier arrangements and guitar textures, stuttered rhythms, etc. Not bad, but totally unoriginal. I've heard a million bands that sound almost identical to this, but I couldn't really name you one of 'em... reason being, they're all pretty forgettable. I've heard worse, I'll give 'em that. But it's still not really doing much for me. Fight Another Day closes things out with four tracks of old school styled hardcore with a few slightly heavier breaks (but not really any metal). Not bad, but again, it's not that memorable or energetic for me. I don't mind so much that it's unoriginal, just that the songwriting just doesn't grab me. It's interesting to point out that, unlike most compilations, all four of these bands have decent recordings. Not perfect mind you, here's a lot of room for work, but for the most part the mixes are good and the tones are on the right track. I could imagine all four of these bands being better with time, but none of this material grabs me. I think Labrat could be pretty good with a really aggressive vocalist, and Fight Another Day might benefit from speeding up the tempos and adding a dash of melody... but who knows? I still can't get over the horrendous cover art... what were they thinking?
[Trolleypop]
Running time - 53:05, Tracks: 14
[Notable tracks: they all have their ups and downs, but none of them truly interest me at this point]
Trolleypop - http://www.goudvishal.nl/trolleycore/
