FolsomWe're about to enter...fear and loathing in Las, Vegas.
Well, Folsom formed back in 2001 and soon after released a 3 song demo that would take them on the road. 2003 would be a big year for the band, it would see them releasing a 5 song demo and a crushing split with Your Mistake. The next year the band would release their first full length on Mike Hood's Westcoast Worldwide label. In 2005, Spook City took notice and took the band on board to release their EP "If You're A Viper". After selling and extremely well and garnering praise from around the country, Spook City decided to re-release their debut full length with 5 bonus demo tracks.
These guys pretty much built the current LVHC scene and carried it on their backs. Out of sheer necessity, Stu (vocalist) built his own venue and dubbed it the "The Hammer House" in the middle of his family's junkyard. You would think hardcore bands would be more common in the city of sin, yet the only bands that ever came out were Curl Up and Die and Faded Grey. I mean you have all the necessary ingredients; gambling, addictions, titty bars, crime, shysters and the obligatory assholes I'm sure.
As soon as the minute long breakdown intro kicks in you pretty much know what you're in for. These guys are all about the heavy and they have no problem with laying down breakdown after crushing breakdown. Even though these guys definitely have the modern day metallic influences in place they still have plenty of old school hardcore moments mixed in. But don't think youth crew, early 80's stuff I mean mid 90's b-ball jerseys and baggy jeans, think Cold As Life or even Bulldoze. These guys don't drag anything on, they make it a habit to get their point across quick. Rarely do the tracks break the two minute mark. And I'm really liking this guy's vocal style, his shit is gruff and throaty as hell.
His lyrics aren't too bad either. A lot of the lyrics are typical to this style of hardcore. A lot of the songs revolve around holding the scene down. There's a song about Stu's venue, appropriately titled "Hammer House". And there's the songs about the common man's blues, "Beezor Blues" and "Viper". Not great, but at least they are sincere.
The recording suites the band extremely well, and who better to churn out a hardcore record of this nature other than Mike of the Hoods, who are one of the heaviest bands to ever come out of the westcoast. And fuck does this sound astoundingly heavy. The bass and the bass drum certainly got their chance to pound the listener with pummeling grooves. The guitar tone is extremely thick and heavy. And fuck are the drums dense and thunderous. The vocals sound explosive, right up front fighting the music. Shit even the demo tracks sounded decent, obviously still a bit rough but competent nonetheless.
I find it funny that their previous EP release titled "If You're A Viper" featured cards on the front cover (also on Spook City) yet this release features the viper and snake scale layout. Well, either way things look good. The predominantly sand brown layout looks good. The majority of the layout revolves around the brown sand background with snake scales running through the middle. The booklet features three pages with all of the lyrics printed in an easy to read white font over the brown background, nothing fancy but solid. Also there is a video on the enhanced part of the cd, courtesy of Born To Hate Fanzine.
Rating: 4/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: Bombs Away, Up All Night and Beezor Blues
Thesis: Tough ass vocals, heavy ass fucking breakdowns. If you like heavy hardcore do yourself a favor and check these cats out, you won't be disappointed.