VerseBy now I'm sure most of you have checked out these guys from Providence. If not, they feature ex members of What Feeds The Fire and have released a 7" demo and a full length titled "Rebuild" that came out in 2004.
Lately, it seems like a lot of bands are attempting to play this brand of melodic hardcore, some are better than others and some are down right terrible. These guys however, are one of the fucking best, they are able to write dynamic songs that grab the listener from start to finish. They are some of the best in the game at building up a melodic part and completely plowing through it. Another thing I like about this band is that they don't follow a formula to song writing, shit the songs vary so much in length from track to track. There are two tracks under a minute, a track over 4 minutes long and everything in between.
These lyrics are absolutely golden. They are the social and political views of Sean the singer, and are presented in clear and concise fashion. There is no abstract meanings, everything he says is blunt and to the point and I respect that. It's as if the album was written to be one huge rallying cry against the social norm. There are songs about a kid falling through the cracks, which all too common these days, "Lost", resisting conformity, "Follow, Conform, Repeat", looking for meaning and substance in life, "Hard To Breathe". And in my opinion the best line of the album, "I've come to learn/That even words written in stone/Can be eroded with time." Good shit.
Their previous effort had it's good attributes and bad in terms of the production. The good; The layered vocals made the album sound like one huge epic sing along. The bad; the recording was too raw, even for my calloused tastes. This time around everything sounds pristine. It's not too polished nor is it too raw. The guitar tone sounds insanely good, just the right amount of crunch and clarity. The bass rounds out the mix nicely, utilizing a warm yet treble tone. The vocals sound perfect, there are some effects but they are used tastefully and they only add to the songs. Even the drums sound great, everything sounds full and dense. No complaints.
I really enjoyed this albums layout, it isn't anything flashy or real eye catching, what it lacks in visual appeal it more than makes up with content. The front cover is simply a gagged man with the band logo stretching across the gagged individuals eyes. The inside of the booklet is a treat for both eyes and mind. Each song is given its own page, and on every other one there is a picture of a band member, and the other a picture of protesting all done up in red and black silhouettes. I found it really awesome that on a few select pages there is a quote from the likes of Gandi, Hitler, and Malcolm X, a real nice touch. Another thing that really caught my attention was the list of books, documentaries and websites in the tray art, titled "Suggestions". Real cool and well thought out layout.
Rating: 4/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: Lost, From Anger and Rage, and Consume
Thesis: I would venture to say this is even better than their previous effort, "Rebuild" They serve up the perfect amount of fist pumping sing alongs, melodies and lyrics that come off just as sincere or if not more than a majority of hardcore bands out there today. I'm into it.