Review: Radiation 4 - Wonderland

artist: radiation 4 album: wonderland label: abacus recordings released: 2003 by: rob tatum When a band sets out to “break the molds” or “set new standards” they typically fall short of their goal. When Radiation 4 formed, they wanted to take hardcore and metal and get away from convention. After giving Wonderland a listen, I can say that they definitely got away from convention, but I can’t really say that they have set new standards. Radiation 4 combines fast beats with occasional melodies into a chaotic barrage comparable to Botch, older Cave In, or Dillenger Escape Plan. The screaming takes a little getting used to because it is higher pitched than most hardcore and metal singers. The singing parts are a little out of the ordinary and the backing vocals are more along the lines of old school hardcore, and at times resemble Slayer styled growls. The guitar work definitely stands out. There are some creative overlays and melodies, even in the faster parts of the songs. The drumming is solid, but there are a lot of fast parts that don’t allow for much creativity. One aspect of the album that stands out to me is the use of electronically generated sounds. I don’t think I have ever said this, but they fit the music well. At first I wasn’t really sure what to make of them, but they add more to the music than they take away. The effects help shape the melodies into much more elaborate parts of the songs. Ordinarily I don’t really get into the fast paced, metal-orientated hardcore, but Radiation 4 does more than get away from convention. They manage to set themselves apart. Like I mentioned before, I wouldn’t call it setting new standards, but they do “break the mold” and have created something that is really an enjoyable listen. favorite song: "the prize" rating: 83%/100% listen to radiation 4

Review: Stop It! - Self Made Maps

artist: stop it! album: self made maps label: robotic empire released: 2003 by: rob tatum For a while there, I was beginning to wonder if I would ever hear another band that played melodic punk similar to Small Brown Bike, then comes Stop It! and quickly dispels that fear from my mind. Driving guitars, fast beats, and solid melodies fill Self Made Maps from start to finish. To totally stray away from music, I have to mention the packaging and liner notes to this CD. A multi-colored cardboard sleeve accompanies the CD rather than a typical case. The liner notes look like a collage of various pictures and papers, and the lyrics are slammed into the middle. It really has nothing to do with the music on this album, but it is a nice side-step from the conventional album artwork and packaging. Okay, back to the music. If you took away the vocals, the band could easily pass off as Small Brown Bike, or maybe older Hot Water Music playing an instrumental. It’s nothing fancy, but it sounds terrific. The downside to that is that the band is going to have a hard time avoiding constant comparisons. The vocals sound nearly identical to Small Brown Bike, and so do many of the songs. Lyrically, Stop It! tackles a variety of subjects, but manages to keep the lyrics pretty generic. I am a huge fan of Small Brown Bike, so I enjoyed this release, but at the same time, I really hate to see carbon-copy bands. Stop It! is solid in almost every aspect, but the resemblance really hurts their standing from my perspective. Self Made Maps is a good listen, but I’ll bet that I’m not the only one who can’t stop making the constant comparisons. favorite song: "name + number" rating: 84%/100% listen to stop it!

Review: The Bled - Pass the Flask

artist: the bled album: pass the flask label: fiddler records released: by: rob tatum The most difficult thing for a hardcore band nowadays is to establish themselves as something out of the ordinary and worth listening to. Tucson, AZ’s The Bled definitely does so with their first full length, Pass the Flask. The band has created ten songs of energetic and melodic beauty. The album has enough power to pummel its listeners during the breakdowns and yet still has that soothing edge of melody to balance everything out. Musically, The Bled falls along the lines of a heavier Poison the Well. The songs contain intense melodies with some solid guitar work. The breakdowns are just as heavy as any band in hardcore, but it’s the melodies that make this release so enjoyable. Most of the songs are hard-hitting, but the band’s ability to tie together each part of the song with intriguing transitions really creates a solid flow. Vocalist James Munoz exhibits a very powerful voice, adding to the prowess of each song. Comparable to a raspier version of Keith from Every Time I Die or Dan from Zao, his voice fits The Bled perfectly. One aspect of this album that I really enjoyed was the lyrics. Although they may appear to resemble some other bands in the same genre, they are much deeper than most metalcore releases. The songs touch a range of subjects, but focus on primarily on love, or love gone bad. My favorite quote comes from the song “Nothing We Say Leaves This Room” and reads, “how we reach for each other only to die alone. how we reach for the stars only to swim through the dead. how we strive to connect only to fall apart.” I really love this album's ability to grab the listener and begs for you to sing along. The Bled as asserted themselves as a force to reckon with in hardcore. As countless bands are formed everyday and many genres are getting overcrowded and tired, The Bled reassures this listener that there is hope out there. Pass the Flask is absolutely amazing. This is hands down the best thing to ever come from Arizona and is definitely one of the best releases of this year. favorite song: "spitshine sonata" rating: 93%/100% listen to the bled

Review: Mara'kate - Self-Titled MCD

artist: mara'akate album: self-titled mcd label: one day savior recordings released: by: rob tatum Short and erratic. Probably the best summary I can come up with to explain the songs on this very interesting release from Mara’akate. Sounding something like a choppy version of the Refused with little or no melody at all, Mara’akate touches base with a handful of genres all at once. There is some quality musicianship exhibited on this release, especially the drumming, but nothing stands out because the songs do a lot of stopping and starting. I had to listen to each song a couple of times to get a real feel for what was going on. The vocals are pretty difficult to understand, but at the same time, they seem to tie the chaotic riffs together. Lyrically, the six songs are nothing extraordinary, but are still interesting nonetheless. I would probably say this is one of those “change of pace” releases. I’m not usually into bands like Mara’akate, but I think that this MCD is a nice way to break up some of the monotony in the various genres this falls into. favorite song: "diet usurp?" rating: 73%/100% listen to mara'akate

Review: Mindfield - Be-low

artist: mindfield album: be-low label: lifeforce records released: by: rob tatum If I was writing a recipe to create the band Mindfield it would read as follows: take two parts In Flames and mix with one part Skid Row, blend, serve with an open mind. Immediately after inserting this CD I knew it was Swedish style metal ala In Flames, but what really got me was the Sebastian Bach styled vocals that showed up 45 seconds into the first song. I couldn’t help but to laugh, as bad as that might sound. To give Mindfield some credit, they are amazing musicians. The guitar work is excellent. Metal riff after metal riff tears up the listener’s ears. The vocals aren’t always the high-pitched wails, but don’t expect the hardcore style that accompanies bands like In Flames. There are some melodic sing alongs from time to time, as odd as that may seem. The lyrics, and song titles for that matter, are almost comical at times, but how can you complain when the second track is called "Destination 666”? Dark, demonic, and cheesy are the best words to reflect the lyrics. This album brings back all those memories of 80’s hair metal and yet attempts to bring with it some flashbacks of older Slayer as well. I’m not sure exactly where this album falls in. It’s a little too 80’s for the metal heads and a little too metal for the pop or rock fans. Honestly, the music is awesome and there are a handful of songs that you can’t help but sing along with, but I’m not really sure where it falls in my music collection. Basically if you are into metal in any way I would check this out, as it combines many of the subgenres into this one release. A very solid release for what it’s worth. favorite song: "desperate (death parade)" rating: 79%/100% listen to mindfield

Review: Fear Before the March of Flames - Odd How People Shake

artist: fear before the march of flames album: odd how people shake label: rise records released: 2003 by: devin braden This is the first LP from a young band (none of whom were over the age of 20 at the time of the recording) that hadn't even been around in their current form for even an entire year. Knowing this background information, one would expect this LP to sound unrefined and immature, and yet these five guys somehow have succeeded in creating one of the most intense and peculiar albums to come out this year. The album begins with the frenetic opener "Fashion Tips Baby" that seems to simultaneously recall The Blood Brothers, Norma Jean, Hopesfall, and numerous other established and equally diverse-sounding bands. This quirky blend of styles doesn't end with the first track and proves to be one of the most charming and rewarding qualities of this release. One minute they are playing in the strangely dissonant guitar style of Botch, and the next minute they are tearing the walls down with a mid-tempo jam like Norma Jean. The playing on the album is superb and the recording quality is fantastic - the label seems to have really done a great job in funding this recording. The guitar sounds are clear and precise, and the vocals are multi-layered and capture entirely the intensity and diversity of both Adam's voice and Dave's voice. The rerecorded songs from their demo ("Given To Dreams," "On the Brightside, She Could Choke") show a marked improvement and the new tracks define a clear path as to where Fear is headed in the future. This album has few downsides, but if I were forced to pick one, I would say that the sometimes-subtle-while-othertimes-overwhelming 'emo' qualities of this release might have a tendency to make this particular band sound more run-of-the-mill than they actually are. This is a great first full-length from a band that hopefully has a strong future ahead. favorite song: "the 20th century was entirely mine" rating: 91%/100% listen to fear before the march of flames

Review: The Escape Engine - Celebrity Role Model

artist: the escape engine album: celebrity role model label: fidelity records released: by: eduardo moutinho To be completely honest, I didn’t expect much from this release when I got it in the mail. I mean, the packaging was reminiscent of a cliché Ferret post-hardcore band ala A Static Lullaby. Thankfully, the mantra “don’t judge a book by its cover” applied in this situation. The Escape Engine can best be described as an amalgam of Grade, Somehow Hollow, and the vocals of Cedric Bixler (At the Drive-In, The Mars Volta). Imagine that combination for a second… If you’re like me, it’s hard to imagine the fusion of poppy post-hardcore with chaotic and not-so-harmonic vocals. It just doesn’t seem to match. But in this case, it is what gives the music of The Escape Engine some character and uniqueness. The musicality of this band is above average, but nothing spectacular. The guitars are well done, and the drums do the job. To be quite honest, nothing really stands out in this department, yet I do believe the band achieved the sound they sought after. The aforementioned vocals are interesting, and the vocalist does indeed have a singing voice incredibly similar to Bixler's. The one thing he does, which emulates modern-day Bixler, is scream on very few occasions. So if you yearn for chaotic, almost screamo-like vocals, you’re not getting it here. But I think the right path was chosen with the vocals. The combination of music and singing is intriguing enough as it is. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the song selection on this record. There are way too many slow and uninteresting post-hardcore ballads for my taste. While I do enjoy these kinds of songs if done correctly, in this case, there are too many and the majority of them are quite average. Bypassing the introductory track, the first three songs on the album, "Welcome to the Conversation," "This Jagged Alibi," and "The Six Month Accident" are well executed and they heightened my expectations for the rest of the album as I listened. Yet, like hitting an irritating path of grooved cement after cruising on freshly laid asphalt, as the ballads kicked in, my expectations went back down. Songs like, "A Lesson in Futility" and even the title track "Celebrity Role Model," are what I’m talking about here. To put it bluntly, I hoped for more variety. Nevertheless, there is solid material exhibited in addition to the first two songs, like "Joining the Club." I believe this group has impressive potential, and I am intrigued to hear their future work. This isn’t a bad freshman release at all, and acts as a good stepping-stone for these guys. I definitely think this is worthy of a listen just to hear the blending of the music and the vocals, and also as a release itself. As a side note, my brain hurts from thinking about how many bands use cheesy picture collages of teenage girls on their album covers… favorite song: "welcome to the conversation" rating: 82%/100% listen to the escape engine