Nice. Here's some straight up old school styled hardcore from DC that doesn't mess around. It hits hard, but there's no metal here at all. Think straightforward chord progressions, classic breakdowns, yelling vocals with plenty of backup shouts, a little bit of melody, lots of bass/drums buildups, all that good stuff. The songs vary in length from less than a minute to close to three minutes, but the tracks that hit right in between and combine all of their influences, both melodic and aggressive, into forceful, memorable compositions are the real winners (see the unstoppable "Gone, Bye"). The first six songs come from the "Remnants of What Could Have Been" 7", another six from their "s/t" 7", and two tracks are previously unreleased, including a cover of Minor Threat's "Little Friend". The recordings are pretty good. The "s/t" material sounds slightly rawer, but the mix is still solid. Though I definitely prefer the bass presence and generally more dense sessions of the "Remnants of What Could Have Been" EP. It's all fine if you ask me, though. I can't complain. There's also some CD-Rom stuff, including a bunch of photos, and a quick video for "Here's the Door". The video's alright, I mean, the film quality is actually really good and professional , but since it's a "performance" shot in a living room with the studio audio under it, it sort of seems unnatural. I don't know, videos for hardcore songs like this don't really feel right because the energy's not exactly happening. The layout's fine by me. It includes the covers of both 7"s, all of the lyrics, a band photo or two, and some notes about where the original tracks came from, which is all you really need. Most of the lyrics are your standard old school styled hardcore fare, but I must give this band credit for taking things just a bit further as far as handling similar topics with a slightly more involved sense of phrasing and whatnot. "I've tried so hard to forget, to replace, to erase all the shit I've seen. It never stops, all these ghosts keep coming back. It's not a dream, it's a war, a war you'll never see. It's not a dream, no right or wrong, just casualties." This is great hardcore. If you're into the late-80's style of old school hardcore, this is definitely for you. It's always nice to hear bands keeping this style alive and well and doing it right.
[Youngblood]
Running time - 26:16, Tracks: 14
[Notable tracks: Revisionist, Gone, Bye, Vida y Muerte, What's Left...]
Worn Thin - http://www.wornthin.net
