Go It AloneOne of Vancouver's finer exports are back with their follow up to their debut full length "The Only Blood Between Us". And I believe this is the first release by the band since their split with Blue Monday (also on Rivalry).
When it comes to melodic hardcore RR knows how to pick em. Though these guys aren't the best in the game, they are one of the better bands playing this style. This 11 track offering shows growth and progression from their previous material. Their core influences of Battery, Dag Nasty, Count Me Out, Chain of Strength, Carry On are still there, it's just presented with a darker atmosphere ala Damnation AD. The one thing I could've really done without was the instrumental track "Weight I". Even "Weight II" seemed to be more like filler, although the latter was a little more enjoyable.
The overall lyrical theme of the record is "...of sand slipping through fingers, and the suffocating feeling that comes with the disappointing realization that we are not at all what we had spent our entire lives trying to become."
The one thing that really stood out to me when listening to this album was the master volume of the recording. When my CD player switched from the previous CD to this one it just got a lot louder. I'll take that any day over the low volumes I've encountered on one too many albums. Another thing that stood out to me was the over use of pasted slides that kind of got on my nerves. Other than that I can't find too many faults in the recording. The bass tone is raging and really outlines the mix well. The vocals are on point. The guitars tone is bright and thick. And the drums sound good.
Very well executed layout that is printed on 16 pages of vinyl gloss. The theme revolves around the Roman columns and other ancient ruins that obviously ties into the title of the album. The simple black, white and grey color scheme works well with the pictures of ancient ruins and live shots that are placed beside the lyrics. There is the obligatory dual page photo collage that is placed in the middle of the booklet.
Rating: 3.8/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: Love and Monastery
Synopsis: This is one of the better melodic hardcore albums released recently. I mean their no MLIW but they know how to compose a good song. It's also worth mentioning that Rivalry Records also released a "Histories" 7"single to help promote the full length. It includes two songs that won't appear anywhere else (one of those being the song "Histories", don't know why they wouldn't include that on the full length) as well as the song "Love" from the full length.