Cruel Hand - Prying Eyes CD Review

Bridge 9 Records is usually the label to turn to when you want to get your fill of quality hardcore. Being home to stellar acts such as Betrayed, Ruiner, Crime in Stereo, Have Heart, and Ceremony, as well as many others, you can usually be assured that any new signing by the label is going to, at the very least, be decent. You can also usually be relatively sure of exactly what any new signee will sound like — at least one of Bridge 9's already signed bands. B9 have consistency going for them, and with Cruel Hand’s Prying Eyes they continue the trend of signing solid hardcore bands.

It would be remiss to not point out from the get go that Prying Eyes is strictly a 12 track hardcore stomp-fest, nothing more, nothing less. With only one song breaking the 2:30 barrier, the band is quick to get to the point. There is little to no deviation from the established hardcore paradigm, with the one small exception being the occasional metal flavored guitar lick. “Hounds” is probably the easiest song to listen to in order to notice the sharp, old-school, metal-tinged guitar tones. They’re sprinkled throughout the rest of the album as well, but the predominant musical theme on the album is straight ahead hardcore with plenty of opportunities for tastefully placed breakdowns.

Not quite up to par with many of Bridge 9’s other releases this year, Prying Eyes seems to spend most of its run time oscillating between speedy chord progressions and slowed down stomps. This isn’t to say that the transitions aren’t well done or missing, but each song tends to either be purely speed focused, purely stomp focused, or a straight up 50/50 mix of the two. There is rarely an in between pace, which leaves this album extremely lacking in the variation department making repeated listens quite dull. The metallic sheen on a lot of standard hardcore conventions lends something interesting to the presentation, but the underlying hardcore template is still being utilized quite heavily.

Also of note for all of you CD buyers out there, the packaging for this album is unfortunately below that of some of B9’s more recent offerings, such as the latest Crime in Stereo or Ceremony albums. Hardcore fans usually flip for great packaging, so it would have been nice to have something other than a single sheet of paper for an insert. I haven’t gotten my hands on the vinyl, but it looks like they did a nice job with the record itself being a smooth purple.

Beyond the CD packaging and the narrow scope of Cruel Hand’s brand of hardcore, this release is entertaining enough for hardcore junkies. However, as is the case with many recent hardcore releases, Prying Eyes doesn’t jump into “good” territory but is instead stuck in “good for the genre” territory.

My Other Web Endeavor

You'll often notice that many of my posts here are music reviews or can be music related. Well, it's because of my other web work that I do--Decoy Music. I've been writing there almost as long as I've been writing here. I haven't done as much writing in the last year or two, however, as I focused more on editing, but I still try to write music related pieces whenever I can to help keep the content there fresh.

I bring this up because I also selfishly want everyone to go visit the site since we have a completely new layout and, for the most part, completely new site. It's pretty bad-ass and I really like the progression we've made from our old site. It seems much more professional now, as well as much slicker and modern looking/feeling.

Now if I would only take the time to redesign this site... nah, that's too much work.

Call To Preserve - From Isolation CD Review

2006’s Unsinkable was one of 2006’s under-appreciated hardcore gems. Call to Preserve put together a very competent debut that should have let them break through into the hardcore mainstream (quite the oxymoron, I know...), but instead they didn’t seem to gain a lot of traction. Hopefully that will change with the release of their sophomore effort From Isolation.

Truth be told, From Isolation is not a terribly huge advance from Unsinkable and, in fact, there are some definite negatives to be found (the vocals on “Vices”, for example), but what the band excels at is combining a familiar hardcore sound with a barraging amount of energy. I’m sure that this can be said about the vast majority of hardcore bands throughout the states, touring their local scenes, playing basement shows, and releasing independently produced albums, but in this case, with the backing of Facedown Records, Call to Preserve have focused their overflowing amount of energy into 13 concise, blunt force trauma inducing tracks.

Obviously, by being on Facedown Records’ roster it is a known quantity that Call to Preserve are a Christian band, which can often spell doom if they get a little too preachy. Thankfully, there are no extremely overt lyrics that force the band members’ beliefs down your throat. Instead, much of the lyrical content deals with coming out of a negative place into a positive realm, or overcoming obstacles to push into a better frame of mind or lifestyle. It’s a welcome relief from the two ends of the hardcore lyrical spectrum — preaching values or preaching hate. It's nothing new, but it's tastefully done nonetheless.

Musically, it’s hard not to say that there is nothing new here. If you’ve been listening to hardcore since the days of Give Up the Ghost, you know what to expect. Beyond the one to two minute ragers, there are some inspired mid-tempo moments, such as the second half of “Lincoln Street” where you can almost hear a little bit of Modern Life is War trying to come through. More often than not, you’ll feel some strong This is Hell and Terror influences and similarities. There’s plenty of stomp-worthy, ground-pounding anthems, my personal favorite being “Waiting for Dawn”, so there will no doubt be a full-on circle pit at live shows.

Call to Preserve pack a punch in the 31 minutes of From Isolation. If your usual rotation of bands contains Buried Alive, Death Threat, Hatebreed, or No Innocent Victim then odds are you will probably fall in love with this disc. Even for a casual hardcore connoisseur, there is a lot to like here. It’s not often you find tasteful positivity in a hardcore band, so enjoy it when you have the chance.

One Way to Get Cool X-Rays

We've all heard the jokes about emo kids and how they cut themselves, my favorite being, "I wish my lawn was emo so it would cut itself!" I've known a few cutters in my day and must say that I still don't really understand the concept. I can somewhat understand the need to invoke physical pain to try and releive emotional issues, but actually cutting yourself just doesn't sound fun. Maybe that's because when I was all emo-y, which came late in life for me (college years), instead of doing something ridiculous like slicing up my arms with a pocket knife, I just went to the gym and beat myself up on the track or in the weight room.

I don't think the concept of cutting oneself is going to go away with kids any time soon, but I didn't see kids upping the ante as much as they supposedly have either. A new phenomenon, now referred to as "self embedding", is proliferating amongst the cutting crowd. This is definitely a new concept to me.

It's hard to understand why people cut themselves to begin with, but what the hell drives a kid to take paperclips, staples, wood splinters, crayons (from the article, not my imagination), or other things and find a way to get them inside your body under your skin? Yes, piercing has taken on new life in the emo/goth/metal/hardcore scenes with lots of interesting new piercing places (lips, cheeks, the back of the neck, etc.), which I can understand because it is a way to change your image that others see. However, with embedding kids aren't changing what's visible to others in a lame attempt to garner attention or artificially boost their self esteem. No, instead all they do is succeed in putting an object into their body outside of the usual ingestion methods.

This is really proof that we're only a few years or decades away from transhumanism becoming a mainstream thing. Body modification has exploded in the past few decades and we're really not that far away from openly grafting technology onto or into our bodies. RFID embedding, artificial organs, mechanical enhancements... by the time I'm 80 it probably won't even be controversial to be a cyborg. Oddly, I'm sort of looking forward to see how we can mesh technology and the human body together to make life longer, fuller, and more interesting.

That being said, self-embedding is just ridiculous. Don't be dumb, kids.

AristeiA - How to Kill a King CD Review

In today’s critical arena where ‘zines are covering a multitude of genres, much like we do here at Decoy Music, it seems like near blasphemy to ever criticize a post-rock band or to *gasp* give a bad review or score to anything post-rock. In any genre, however, there are going to be releases that are good, some that are bad, some that are absolute dreck, others that are mind-alteringly spectacular, and a bunch of mediocre stuff. It seems odd that for post-rock, nearly every band is given a “get out of the bad category free” card. Conversely, you could also say that metalcore and pop-punk are overly criticized in a negative light, but that’s an argument for another time and another place. Now, as you can easily guess by this point, How to Kill a King is unfortunately not going to get a free pass.

AristeiA are a fine band hailing from Portland, Oregon, and they’ve done some decent work in the form of 2007’s You Give Me Strength, You Give Me Patience, but they fall a little flat with How to Kill a King. The easiest potshot to take at this album is the fact that there is way too much Explosions in the Sky worship. True, it’s easy to say that almost any post-rock band shows an EitS influence, but there are tracks on this album that feel like they were created as musical love letters to EitS. “Stairway to Heaven Part II” exemplifies this with the very methodical, slow guitar build of the first third of the song before the sparse drumming enters, allowing the song to grow further and eventually climax, shooting their proverbial post-rock load all over the place, only to be followed by the near sleep inducing “I’ll Take Mine Black”.

This has been done to death, people. Because post-rock is such an insulated and critically loved genre, being derivative doesn’t seem to be called out as much as it should. It’s getting called out here, however, because as competent of musicians as AristeiA are, they’ve simply gone through the motions with How to Kill a King. Truth be told, however, it is a little easier to tolerate a so-so post-rock effort as compared to many other genres’ so-so entries, mostly because even with a middle of the road post-rock effort, you at least can hear that the band knows something about song structure, can play their instruments well, and demonstrate decent songwriting dynamics.

There are some positives that should be pointed out, however, most notably being that AristeiA have put this album up for free for everyone to download over at the Internet Archive. Knowing that it’s totally free, it’s hard to have buyer’s remorse if you do go get this album (and I actually recommend you do go give it a listen). I’m also sure that post-rock aficionados will find something to like, at least in the first couple of tracks (the final three are pretty lackluster downers, sadly). To be brutally honest, however, there are a lot of other post-rock efforts out there that are more deserving of your time if you are a discerning listener.

Rosematter - Rosematter CD Review

I’m surprised that it’s taken this long for a blatant cash-in attempt on the Paramore craze to come along. Not only do Rosematter try to be the next big female fronted pop-punk band, but they gratuitously rip-off those ever loved popsters Fall Out Boy, tongue-in-cheek song titles and all. It’s hard to listen to this album without being overwhelmed by the notion that you now know what the audible manifestation of mediocre sounds like.

Before this album gets utterly dismantled, it should be mentioned that the majority of the songs on this album are upbeat, bouncy, moderately catchy, and totally mom-friendly. Most of that stems simply from the fact that Rosematter plays in a genre of music where 90% of the bands share these traits to begin with. They’re inherently a part of the pre-requisites that every pop-punk band is require to have in order to simply get started.

That being said… where do we start? Before you even listen to the band, you’ll be confronted with the horribly unfunny song titles on the back cover. Some gems are “I Bet She Gives Great Helmet”, “Do Re Egon”, and “I Drink to Prepare for a Fight (Tonight I’m Very Prepared)”. Let’s all agree right now that quasi-ironic song titles are long past their expiration date. All they do is inform a potential listener that a band is trying to be more clever than they actually are.

As you listen to each song you’ll soon realize that you’re hearing the exact same basic song structure over and over again with only some slight variations here and there that attempt to trick you into thinking that each of these songs are uniquely their own. Don't be fooled. The most blatant element that is shared amongst all of the songs is the tempo – that mid-paced, pop-punk, sing-a-long pace that is fine for a song or two on an album but gets played out all too fast when overused.

Of course, let’s keep in mind that we are operating in the pop-punk realm so the conventions of the genre should be expected. For a relatively simple genre, however, Rosematter pull a Lynyrd Skynyrd and have three guitarists in the band, even though you can't actually identify any songs that use more than a maximum of two guitar lines. And, in all honesty, there's very little noticeable use of multiple guitar lines. The majority of the album could have been played by a single guitarist.

The majority of the album could also be viewed as what would happen in an alternative reality where Relient K had Haley Williams as a lead singer. The only problem here is that Katie Kolos doesn’t quite have the range that Williams has with Paramore, which only perpetuates the monotony of the album.

I’m sure Torque Records saw this release as a good idea, but I don’t think that Rosematter will be able to garner enough attention or staying power to really matter beyond a quick flash in the pan. Other than Paramore there hasn’t been another female fronted pop-punk band to make a significant sales splash and Rosematter surely won't be rivaling the current kings (and queen) for their throne.

I'm Not Dead...

...I just hadn't really had much of a desire to write. Oddly, I just found that doing any sort of blogging felt more like a chore than anything else, which is not what I ever wanted it to be. I'm sure it was a bunch of different things coming together to finally get me to give up (temporarily, I guess, since this is now another post). I felt I didn't have much to talk about, I was getting overwhelmed at work (where I'd often feel frustrated, which only leads to negative rants... and I don't want to rant about work), and while I was at my computer at home I never felt the desire to pull up a blank screen and start typing.

So what's changed? Not much, really. I still don't feel the urge to write 100%, but it's not the empty tank I was running on a couple months ago. I'd still been doing some writing in the form of music reviews for Decoy Music and documentation at work, so I didn't go cold turkey. What really got me to reconsider writing anything in this space was the simple fact that a couple of different people asked why I quit. They were family, yes, but still... knowing anyone reads anything you write is always a good feeling. I know that the letters I write to my grandparents are only read by a couple of people, but that doesn't stop me from writing them. And I know that I'll never be a Keith Olbermann or James Lileks or even a Ryan Rhodes, but if there's a couple people out there paying attention, then what the heck. I might as well keep at it.

So with that, I guess I'm going to try to be back enjoying myself in the written word. And just to be clear, nothing tragic or horrendous or life altering happened to me over the last few months. I just wasn't motivated and got pretty bored. And for all I know, I might get completely bored again in a couple of months. Who knows? But I'm hoping I won't.

Smartbomb - Diamond Heist CD Review

In the time it takes to type out this initial opening paragraph, over one third of Diamond Heist will have already played. As you can guess, this is far from a lengthy CD, with most songs clocking in around a minute and a half in length, and for as much as this keeps the release short and to the point, it is also what kills this album. There are so many good ideas being tossed around by Smartbomb, but rarely are any of them given enough space to become fully developed. Instead, songs come to a close just as they’re taking off, which is beyond unfortunate considering the band’s pedigree.

This three-piece, consisting of two members of No Trigger and one member of Shock Nagasaki, plays a style of punk that is definitely in the same vein as their other bands, but they slam their foot on the accelerator a bit harder. There’s no denying that playing fast and in your face is not a problem for the band. “Crucial Times” is the perfect example of what makes this band appealing (a raging 90’s Epi-Wreck slab of pulse-pounding punk), as well as what kills this album (a song that doesn’t necessarily go anywhere until it blends into the next track). If Smartbomb were to have combined “Crucial Times” and the next track, “Second View”, into one track it would have made for a diverse track that shows the band can do more than explore one singular element in a song.

The best section of the album comes later on in the form of the one-two punch of “PCH (Intermission)” and “Blood & Sand”. “PCH” takes its time to develop into a 3+ minute instrumental jam, letting the band actually make a transition or two between tempos and playing styles, which they do extremely well. “Blood & Sand” also stretches past the 2 minute mark and toys around with some vocal maneuvers that are unique to this track alone, namely using female backing vocals. To go with the feminine voice there is also a very bouncy and, dare I say it, poppy sound to the track.

However, after these two killer tracks, it is back to two more nondescript tracks that just plow ahead in the same manner as the first 7 songs of the album. To make matters worse, “My Wicked Mind” simply trails off to nothingness. I realize that it was a stylistic choice to go with the lyrics of the song, but it leaves the song feeling incomplete, coming off more so as an idea for a full fledged song rather than a completed musical effort.

Smartbomb have at times been referred to as simply “No Trigger’s side project”. For as much as this band wants to be more than that, they can’t crawl out from under the fact that Diamond Heist is little more than an underdeveloped, but well intentioned, imitation of the band members’ other bands. It’s not enough to have a lot of good ideas - you also need to know how to use them.

Miseration - Your Demons Their Angels CD Review

It’s hard to believe that this CD was recorded at the end of 2006, nearly 2 years ago, because it is very much in tune with the current death metal environment. Despite the length of time that has passed since then, Lifeforce Records is just now bringing Your Demons – Their Angels to Europe and the states. Miseration isn't just another melodeath group, but are instead a “supergroup” of sorts, consisting of only Jani Stefanovic of Divinefire and Christian Älvestam of Scar Symmetry. Jani plays all of the instruments while Christian is responsible for the vocal work, and despite having only two members in the recording studio, this album feels huge, no doubt in part to precise mixing, expert production, and the raw talent of both members of the band.

Obviously the first thing you’ll notice is the similarities to Christian’s other band, Scar Symmetry. Vocally, Christian sticks to his growling for the majority of the album, using melodic vocals very sparingly. This comes in stark contrast to Holographic Universe where he let his melodic vocals take center stage on a number of songs. Even with the limited use of his melodic vocals, you never find yourself yearning to hear more of them. Instead, the variations on his growling and guttural approaches provide each song with an identity of its own, but that’s not only his doing.

Jani, who is responsible for all of the instruments, shows off exactly how multi-talented he is. Drawing on strong influences from Scar Symmetry, Dark Tranquility, and heavier Opeth, Jani proves he can do it all. Now you all know exactly the type of melodic death metal that Miseration and the aforementioned bands play, so it would be a bold faced lie to say that somehow Jani and Christian have done something ground breaking and new, but it would not be a lie to say that they aren’t completely on top of their game.

There may only be nine tracks on the album, but each one is a solid slab of melodeath. There is your prerequisite long, brooding intro into pummeling, yet melodic, headbanger “World Lethality”. Then you have the extremely diverse track, “Chain-Work Soul”, which shifts gears from mid-paced melodic chorus to double bass pounding verse progressions. The closing track, “Scattering the Few”, is one of the more straight forward death metal songs and has a competently short and shred-worthy solo placed nicely in the middle. Oh, and don’t forget the album’s opener, “Thrones”, which is quite easily the most menacing track of the album. The buzzsaw riffs and precision drumming drive this song right through your skull.

Not too bad for a two man band, is it? Or for a side project either, eh? This is definitely one of the essential melodic death metal releases to hit the shelves this year. Crafting a melodeath album that goes beyond simply touching upon clichés is somewhat rare today. True, Miseration don’t completely sidestep delving into cliché-ridden territory, but when they do, they at least do it very competently.

That Bailout Bill...

...was supposed to help the broader market, right? But as I sit and watch the DOW, it's down 300-ish points and is about 15 points away from dipping below 10,000 points. I fear what would happen then, especially considering how much of the market movement is psychological right now. Everyone has jitters, everyone is on edge, and there's a fear that the bottom is ready to fall out at any moment.

It's painful to look at my brokerage account and retirement accounts. I don't mind the huge losses in the retirement accounts right now as I am confident they'll have increased plenty by the time I actually need to get to the funds, but my current investments in my brokerage account are hard to look at.

I wish I had the extra money to invest in more companies that are on the cheap because of the broad market kick to the pants that has been happening. It's a great time to get stuff on the cheap, but I'm not really willing, right now, to sell off some of my stakes in what I believe to be strong companies at a loss to move to others. There are a couple of stocks that I hold that I think have weaken since I bought them, but I think their share prices have been overly punished so I'm waiting for a little bit of a bump back before dumping. Any way you look at it, though, it's a rough market.

So anyone think we'll close below 10,000 today? I think it's very possible...