TrampleTrample is hardcore band from Tampa Bay, FL and feature Charles (guitar) who also runs the fine label Get Outta Town Records and plays in Make Or Break. Justin (bass) runs a hardcore website/t-shirt company known as Thunder Lizard, and both guys play in the sxe band called Gator Bait. They draw a lot from the likes of Judge, Sick of It All, and Cro-Mags.
This is the bands first release aside from their 2006 demo. I'm surprised these guys didn't wait to write another 3-4 songs for a full length considering this thing has 8 original songs as well as a cover of "Glue" by SSDecontrol (which is really good by the way!), but hey fuck it right? More bang for the buck!
For the most part these guys do a good job of keeping the energy level high by having a good balance of shorter 1 minute songs alongside 2-3 minute songs. But man I don't know the drum patterns along with the lackluster recording strip away a bit of the intensity. In my opinion the drums lay back way too much. Aside from that though, the instrumentation is actually quite good, but nothing that I would call memorable in anyway. The biggest stinker about this release is the atrocious gang vocals. I mean not only were they weakly delivered but the horrific placement in the mix just makes it so much worse (just listen to the title song and you'll know exactly what I mean).
The recording is decent and what really stands out the most to me is the great distortion on the guitars. There are some blemishes though, I do not like the tone of the drums. They have a distant sound, and they are mixed way too far back which leaves a lot to be desired. The bass is another area that could use some improvement. It's got a really week twang tone that gets lost in the background which results in a thinner sounding mix, especially when coupled with the short comings of the drum tone. Also a lot of the back up vocals sound like shit and are mixed in horrifically.
Pretty much a by the books hardcore layout, which isn't a bad thing and I like the fact they used a drawn out cover of a suit and tie guy getting sucker blasted by a couple of snakes. The booklet is a two panel jaunt that includes all of the lyrics to the songs spaced out neatly over the two pages with a picture of each band member going along the top.
Rating: 3.3/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: Burn It Down and Only You
Synopsis: A solid release overall but the recording needs some tweaking, keep the guitar tone and rework everything else. And man either get a better recording for those gang vocals or just keep them out. These guys definitely have a good sound going just need to work at it a bit. But you be the judge...