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Your Demise - The Golden Age (review)

Here’s the review I made for new Your Demise album. Check it out on Legends Arising

It’s pretty obvious that the band you knew in 2006 as Your Demise has changed. There has been lot of controversy around that band since we witnessed their musical reorientation on The Kids We Used To Be. They have lost a few fans on the way and reactions around their new album probably won’t be different. This record follows the same path but with more or less success.

Released on March 26 via Visible Noise, The Golden Age is the fourth full-length studio album from this UK hardcore punk quintet, the second one with former Centurion vocalist Ed McRae. For a few years now, these five dudes have been touring incessantly with heavyweight bands like Parkway Drive, Comeback Kid and Enter Shikari. It seems Your Demise gained lot of experience and have met a lot of new, great friends along the way.

These guys never took themselves seriously and on this record, it seems they just wanted to have fun with people they love and respect. The impressive guest vocals list prove the latter: Jason Butler (letlive.), David Wood (Down To Nothing, Terror) Theo Kindynis (Last Witness), Ajay Jones (Brutality Will Prevail), Josh Franceschi (You Me At Six) and Dannika Webber (Evarose).

The ‘Golden Age’ opening track is a pumped-up, fast song with skate vibes, including their gimmick “Your Demiiiise 2012, Bitch!”, but still not sounding as powerful as ‘MMX’ was. On the single ‘These Lights,’ things get worse. By to an annoying mainstream pop punk sound, Your Demise delivers a fake, but catchy song and misses the point. But don’t just start drawing fast conclusions, thinking that YD’s slightly different direction isn’t able to produce ground-breaking material. ‘Born a Snake’ is a solid track including all elements that set their fame: Fun, partying, but with an aggressive sound.

One of The Golden Age’s highlights is ‘Forget About Me’ where the band provides bouncy breakdowns with sweet melodic riffage and sing-along chorus. Clean and aggressive McRae vocals combined with David Wood strength skills are highly worthwhile and it creates a great mix between the old and new Your Demise sound. Another interesting song on this album is ‘I’m (Not) The One’ where Jason Butler from letlive. makes an intense appearance, with his raw and singular vocal blends.

The Golden Age has one principal value: its diversity. The band managed to deliver 11 pop-punk-hardcore tunes sounding quite diverse. Their traditional ferocious and beatdown trademark still sounds great but the problem lies in a cruel lack of originality, constancy and punch, really missing on a few songs. ‘Never a Dull Moment’ sounds like a bad A Day To Remember track and other songs like ‘Paper Trails or Worthless’ just sound out of place. Yes, The Golden Age sounds much more mainstream and poppy than everything YD has released before, but that’s no excuse. With a bit more character, strength and quality, this album could have been fantastic.

With their new LP, Your Demise have delivered a decent, worth listening but unequal album, admitting their influences from all areas of hardcore and punk music. We believe this change in musical orientation is not a bad thing when the music stays enjoyable and if the guys stay honest to the way they want to go with their songs. But we have to admit it: The Golden Age is a bit disappointing. Half of the album is hard knocking; the other half is quite weak.

So yes, bands change over time. You just have to admit it, YD diehard fans:  This band makes music they want to make instead of following people’s expectations. And that’s honourable. But they will by any doubt still be kicking ass live and tearing up stages all over the world.

Bastions - Hospital Corners (review)

If you’re into that kind of alternative hardcore and not familiar with Bastions yet, this won’t last forever. Hailing from North Wales, UK and proud member of the #ukswell movement (with great bands like Kerouac, The Long Haul, Pariso…) This band is seriously one of the most promising I’ve heard in a while. You can call a lot of influences here but Bastions breaks all codes to deliver a unique raw and chaotic sound.

When I saw their name for the first time, this four–piece band were supporting the almighty Gallows (Frank Carter era, we’ll soon come that guy) on a UK tour. Their previous EP’s, Kingdom of dogs, released in 2009, and Island Living, 2010, were simply amazing and I had high expectations on these fellows. I wasn’t wrong.

Their debut full length Hospital Corners shows us how much they’ve improved. Produced by Lewis Johns (who also shreds guitar in The Long Haul) and released through ‘In At The Deep Records’, Hospital Corners is a solid record that needs to be played many times because the first listening surely won’t let you insensitive.

It all begins with opener track Augury: a slow heavy guitar riff, meticulous drum beat and distant shouts coming louder and louder, “I am shelved and segregated, struggling to control what I’ve created. You think the war is out there? It starts in here between the panic and fear”. Everything is settled to introduce you to their electrifying but still, controlled chaos. And here it starts. The percussive single Visitant drops fast drum parts and a very energetic rhythm that leads to a huge finish. No seconds left, In The Shadow of a Mountain comes with a hard-hitting beat to end up on Jamie Burne brutal screams “I am forever, forever is all I have”.

On The Lengths (When wants become needs), Burne combines with guest Frank Carter (Pure Love, ex-Gallows) for clean/harsh vocals and a crushing chorus, ending on a creepy phone call message. Rest of the record goes fast, very fast. Each track runs perfectly into the following one. Guitars rythms brought by Jamie McDonald are huge and same words could be used to define Warmth of the world, Child of glass and Grief beggar. Inspired by Burne’s experiences as a support worker and research psychologist, Hospital Corners lyrics are strong, haunting and despairing. It’s about introspection and contemplation, bitterness and melancholy.

Then comes« I Tried To Stitch The Sea To The Shore » where Bastions release the pressure to deliver a cold, ambient and atmospheric interlude. After passing through the loudness of Onset, it’s already time for Bastions to deliver their last beast: Dark Father. Longest track of the record and probably the most intense. Furiously starts then slows down to go through an interesting instrumental down-tempo rhythm. Amazing finale included as well.

At the very end of Hospital Corners, I was disapointed about one thing only: Bastions could have take us further. But hey, this is already solid work.

For the past few years, UK hardcore scene has provides us so much talented bands (check out Last Witness, Crocus, Veils and other bands quoted previously) that it’s hard to keep an eye/ear on each one of them. But with such an intense and devastating record as Hospital Corners, Bastions have proved they’re one of the most serious British sensation. Crushing.

Relentless-Desolate (review)

Check out the Relentless review I did for Legends Arising

“Always searching for a light, to guide me away from this endless fight.“

From Minneapolis, Minnesota comes straight edge formation Relentless. This five-piece band have just released their new 8-track album Desolate via Bandcamp.

To be honest, I never heard about these guys until I was asked to give them a listen. They already released an EP back in 2009 and a demo in 2010. Some of these news songs were released last year on their 3-track album Disillusioned.

A quick look to Desolate’s artwork and you know it’s not going to be some smooth easy listening record. Relentless offers a mix between heavy hitting hardcore and metal including some old school thrash influences. No introduction, first track ‘Grindstone’ gives a panel of what Relentless is all about: solid riffs and solos, fast and furious breaks. On the next few tracks, they manage to deliver an aggressive groovy and uncompromising sound. For all of you Born From Pain, All Out War or Biohazard fans out there, this release should catch your attention. Top track on this record is ‘A Blind Eye,’ where the band shows their musical abilities, ferocious drums and raw vocals.

These guys aren’t trying to break through with a fresh new sound but they just play honest music and delivers in about 26min, 8 tracks that shows they know their roots. Certainly not an album to sleep on but if you are looking for something new in hardcore music, maybe this one isn’t for you.

Throats Discography

Reblogged from banaanapprovedmusic

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Genre: Hardcore

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This is still one of my favourite bands to date, they’re heavy as fuck and more furious and pissed than most bands  out here. They decided to compile everything they have ever recorded in this wonderful discography for your listening pleasure. If you don’t want to miss out on one of the best bands that ever played, you need to download this.

This is for promotional use only, support bands by going to shows, buying merch, ordering the records,…

Our thoughts are with you, Fabrice

Reblogged from afootballreport

afootballreport:

I woke up with chills. It wasn’t a nightmare.

Yesterday, Fabrice Muamba collapsed on the pitch at White Hart Lane during a match between Tottenham and Bolton. It was real. It could have happened to anyone. Just like that. And yet, the day after witnessing the horror of a model professional and a good man be rushed to the Heart Attack Centre at the London Chest Hospital, we wait. We sit. We hope that life is not this fragile. We pray that he overcomes his critically ill condition in intensive care.

Today, we are not supporters of a club. Our country does not come first. We are all with you, Fabrice. Sport is meaningless in a moment like this. And yet, here we are.  Here I am, writing. Here you are, reading. How we are united does not matter. But we are, undeniably, united. If our collective thoughts cannot reach Fabrice, may they be heard by his family and friends and help support them in a time as dark as this.

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Narrows - Painted (2012)

Reblogged from banaanapprovedmusic

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Genre: Hardcore

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Narrows is an awesome band, playing some chaotic and technical hardcore. I haven’t found the time to give this album a spin but everyhting they released so far was solid so i’m pretty sure if you liked their previous stuff this will be right up your alley. Thanks to the folks at I Liked You Better Dead for the link.

This is for promotional use only, support bands by going to shows, buying merch, ordering the records,…