excellent overall balance; from wailing guitar leads, chugging bass riffs, rhythm/tempo variation, traditional (genre-appropriate) song structure, and even lyrical content. considering this is their debut full-length, and despite the fact that they play a very generic brand of punk, it's quite impressive stuff. 11 track onslaught of thrash parts, circle pit ragers, dance parts and stage dive opportunities abound. no cheesy Bridge 9 gang vocals, which i am generally fond of, but if they existed here it would probably take away from their flow. good call.
lyrics span from dissatisfaction with fake friendships, frustration with stagnancy and redundancy/boredom, defiance towards conformity, and - to paraphrase both this act as well as CEREMONY - just feeling "sick". again: generic, but done really well. maybe "classic" is maybe a bit more fitting. i would, however, like to think that they are paving a new path with songs like "Rhetoric". i interpret it as a kind of critique towards left-wing politics and their pretentious subscribers, but not one that's in total opposition to being "socially conscience", for lack of a better term. basically, i see it as a statement that any representative of an oppressed group - insofar as they are asserting themselves as a representative/expert/what-have-you - are thus exposing themselves as members of the authoritative class through that very act. but hey, that's probably me reading in way too far.
all theorizing aside, this LP is fantastic. you should buy it, as it is hella cheap, or at least download it and talk them up in your town/city to earn them some more exposure and a larger attendance if and when they come through.
songs that get my proverbial motor running: Rhetoric, Fill the Void, Alone, No.
available through: Deranged Records, Go It Alone, and probably any number of other distros. last.fm is in the title. enjoy!
WORLD TOUR WITH DRAKE, PLZ.
