In The Face Of WarIt's not often that I am able to revisit an album that I have reviewed but I was afforded the opportunity to do so when Pete over at Pee Records decided to re-release In The Face of War's last full length.
After giving a few more listens to "We Make Our Own Luck" and reading my review I felt pretty much the same about the record. The album is essentially the same; the songs were not re-recorded or mastered or anything, however, the CD comes in some sweet new packaging (even though the last packaging effort was also top notch), along with new unreleased tracks.
Instead of a thick booklet filled with loads of band shots you get a cool looking six-panel foldout booklet that is loaded with different colors, a snake, and club suits throughout on the one side with the lyrics printed on the other side.
I can probably go out on a limb here and say this is the best band to ever come out of Kokomo, Indiana but I have been wrong in the past. They are a passionate melodic hardcore band that features 6 members which include 3 guitarist. Why they could possibly need 3 guitarist is beyond me. They say Vegan on their myspace which I don't understand because they have a picture inside the booklet of one of the members eating Taco Bell, and even if it is devoid of meat, it is still absolutely the furthest thing from Veganism. Well, either way they have released a demo, split with The Bowels of Judas, a full length titled "Live Forever or Die Trying", and another album titled "Self Reliance is Self Destruction".
Even though it seems like the whole melodic hardcore thing has seen a huge resurgence as of late, these guys play the style well. At moments they reminded me of a stripped down version of Passion, especially the vocals at times. They keep things fast to mid paced for the most part with a lot of melodic undercurrents throughout. It's definitely nothing innovative but like I said these guys do it pretty damn good. The 11 songs usually stick around the 1:45-2:30 mark, it gives you enough time to get into the songs without getting bored too fast because lets face it, things can get boring fast with this style of hardcore without the proper song writing and energy.
I enjoyed the recording on this one. It had enough polish without taking away from the bands energy and intensity. The guitars sound good, although I couldn't even tell there were three of them. The bass had a fair amount of presence with a treble rich tone. The drums sounded solid. The vocals were mixed in very nicely. Rating: 3.8/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: Who Will Be There And Revival
Synopsis: I still feel the same about the record, the old songs are still enjoyable to listen to. Like I said, the first version had a really nice layout, as does this, though I would say this version is a bit more eye catching. Even though I wasn't digging the two new tracks I kept the score the same because you still get all the old stuff and the new songs are just an added bonus; if you don't like them you can skip them, and if you do, that's even more reason for you to purchase this version.
Be the judge yourself:
Pee Records Website
Order the record from Pee Records and get a free pin and stickers.
In The Face of War MySpace