Wisdom In ChainsI remember listening to their self titled on Gangstyle Records and loving it but then after that the band just fell off. Obviously due to the fact that it was a side project of members in Dutch hardcore band Daredevil and PA's Krutch. Well after a few years of hiatus, and a new lineup comprised of the PA members, Wisdom In Chains brings you their best material to date. The most noticeable difference from "Die Young" and the self-titled is that theirs a much more melodic punk rock sound whereas on the self-titled it was more of a straight up NYHC sound. I love it when a band can incorporate good use of melody without it sounding gay as sin and totally insincere. The use of melody Wisdom In Chains displays only adds to the urgency of frontman Jothum. This has the melodic tinges of early Sick of It All, but for me that's where Die Young's NYHC comparisons end. This is straight up street punk with tons of great sing alongs, and messages of hard times of street life and fuck you's to the system. The opener, "We're Not Helping" gets this thing moving right, just the line, "Born rich, your daddy gave you everything. It's not your fault but I don't really care cause I was born into poverty so I don't think you can tell me shit about fair," makes this one of my favorite tracks right off the bat. Also the ending is tight as hell, it slows down to an eerie pace with a great scraping guitar lead. The second track "Liar" appeared on their self-titled, and it was definitely one the most stellar tracks on the album, so it's nice to hear it re-recorded because it sounds much better. The title track, "Die Young" is a fucking banger, I could listen to this song over and over. The melodic verse the song starts off with is killer as all hell, it's catchy and brutal as shit at the same time. And then it kicks off into a brutal breakdown that just screams floorpunching and creepy crawling. Get to Steppin is a song about a bitch that did you wrong, and it's the only way a song about an ex should be written. "My baby said she loved me. My baby said she cared, but she lied and tried to hide it so I kicked that bitch right outta my hair." Now that's an anthem to listen to if you got girl problems, not any of that homo emo nonsense. Closing off the album as strong as it started off is the song, "Nothing Like You," which starts off with a great bass intro. This song is a lot slower than most of the songs, it stays at midtempo for the most part and features the drums and bass handling the majority of the rhythm legwork while the guitars wail away. The production on this is infinitely better than the s/t, the guitar tone sounds great, the bass is present and full, the drums are heavy, and the vocals are perfect. The layout is real tight, the cover artwork is in the style of tattoo art and looks cool as hell. The color scheme is cool as shit, the black with the maroon red mixed with the color of the artwork really catches your eye. Real sharp. If you like real street punk, this is as real as it gets, so don't sleep because Wisdom In Chains embodies the best of street punk and hardcore and displays it with sheer power. This one's for the kids who have fallen on hard times, and by hard times I don't mean cause your mommy and daddy wouldn't pay for college.
Rating: 4/5
Songs worthy of Replay: We're Not Helping, Die Young, Nothling Like You