This brief disc sees three tracks each coming from these two Connecticut bands, kicked off by With Honor's brand of melodic hardcore that's chock full of speedy chord progressions with a good mix of influences at work.? They've still got a nice level of straightforward old school stuff going on, accented by octave chords or brief hints at more metallic playing, but this time out there's a little bit of singing thrown in.? Hell, some of the playing even reminds me to some degree of a pop-punk sense of energy, most notably in "Long Story Short".? "Pipe Dream" is a much longer song at nearly five minutes, and it's actually a little darker and more dissonant with its chord phrasings, making it more creative and intriguing in my opinion.? I've been a pretty big fan of everything this band has done to date, and I like these three songs as well, but I have to confess that they don't hit me quite as hard.? The energy level is still top notch, and that's a huge sticking point, but I'm not really finding the singing (as rare as it is) to add any color to the songs, and aside from the diversity of "Pipe Dream" the writing seems almost too melodic for its own good on occasion. Make no mistake, they're not bad tunes though. The recording's pretty solid, but the drums are a little thin and dominant. The bass tone kicks ass and the vocals sound fine, but the guitars ought to be heavier to counterbalance the percussion - which would benefit from a warmer sense of resonance. The lyrics are personal and can have a bleak edge, but they definitely come across as sincere - making a distinct point without being too stripped down: "We're told that life is learning, but all I'm learning is that life is full of holes..." Not bad. Not their best work, but "Pipe Dream" is a killer song. The Distance follows with a few concise hits of their hard hitting and fairly traditional hardcore. The vocals are a little higher pitched and more differentiating than most, while the music keeps it straight to the point with basic chord progressions that are moderately fast and lead to slower breaks that keep things free of any metal trappings. The recording's pretty good. A little dry, and the bass could use a louder presence, but other than that I'm digging it. I like the crispness of the drumming, the vocals sound fine, and there's a nice edge to the guitars when they let the chords ring out. The lyrics are much more pessimistic and somber than most straight up hardcore, that's for sure: "Whispers in my life, depression and despair it's all the same, revenge for the months and the years, voiceless all this time, try to make sense of why now..." The disc comes in a nice looking digipack that folds out from the center in all directions and has unusual artwork depicting chaotic arrangements of figures engulfed by grasping hands and whatnot, complete with some metallic gold ink. There's no text on the outer packaging either, which is a nice touch. This is a solid split. I was hoping for a little more from With Honor but they still pull through, and The Distance succeeds by keeping it simple with no frills. At just a smidge over 16 minutes I do wish there were a few more tracks per band, but fuck it, it's better to be left wanting more.
[Martyr]
Running time - 16:27, Tracks: 6
[Notable tracks: Pipe Dream, We're All Here.? Alive and Unwell.]
Martyr Records - http://www.martyrrecords.com
