Neil Gaiman once wrote in Sandman: Season of Mists that “hell is something you carry around with you, not somewhere you go” and with Cinereous Incarnate (I, Voidhanger et al), Abstracter aim to ensure that the feeling of your own personal hell is something that stays with you throughout the remainder of the year.Continue reading
For those who have followed my reviews through the years, I am pretty lenient on hardcore releases considering I am pretty picky with the genre. I have been able to review some great hardcore albums which in turn added some respect points from me. Having said that, I am perplexed when it comes to The Suffering Spirit (Good Fight) from New Jersey’s Old Wounds. I found myself absolutely in love with some of the tracks and then others had me holding my face in my hands, impatiently waiting for the next track. A positive pointer for me is I enjoy the harsh vocals for the most part. The clean vocals, however, seemed a little bland and just came off as simply a needful break from the harsh vocals. Instrumentally, Old Wounds is a tightly captained ship that sounds like what you would expect from a modern hardcore band. Oh and breakdowns. It might just be impossible to have a hardcore band write music without a breakdown nowadays.
The album opener, ‘Rest in Piss’, had a great feel for the opening track in an attempt to set the mood across all eleven tracks. Each time through The Suffering Spirit, this song would get me excited to hear the rest, but I only enjoyed a few other tracks. ‘The Secret Song at the Center of the World’ was one of the tracks that grabbed my attention once again with its slow tempo and sluggish personality. The same sort of characteristics seen in this track are seen later on in the album on ‘Moral Hex. These two tracks alone will get your head banging. I feel as if Old Wounds went for a more mature sound on these two tracks and really hit the nail on the head, unlike most of the remainder of the album. The final track, ‘Desecrate’, was one of the more interesting tracks on the album. Not only is this the longest track at over four minutes, but it sounded like a Mudvayne song with hardcore elements over it.
As a whole, I was not feeling Old Wound’s latest album. In no way did I think this was an awful album either, just not that exciting. In a larger spectrum, when it comes to modern hardcore, this latest release from the Jersey foursome is certainly one of the better ones I have listened to.
6.5/10
TIM LEDIN
Sometimes a band that you’ve never really fancied before creates the kind of music that grabs you by the balls and makes them stand to attention [! – Reviews Ed]. Sometimes it’s a band that you’ve previously had preconceived ideas about and due to the genre that they’ve been associated with, you’ve scoffed at the very idea of even giving them a try. Feed The Rhino is a band that fit this personal description but after listening to The Sorrow Of The Sound (Century Media) it’s fair to say that many of ones previous misconceptions about the quintet have been banished.
Having not been a fan of some of the bands that Feed The Rhino have been mentioned in the same vein as, bands such as Suicide Silence for example, it was with trepidation that The Sorrow Of The Sound was listened too, but straight from the outset it is clear that the music at hand is of a grand quality.
Beginning with ‘New Wave’ Feed The Rhino treat us to an entrancingly catchy bass line, which quickly descends into a track full of haunting groove and is a contender for best song. The whole album is very melodically appealing, with tunes such as ‘Give Up,’ ‘Behind The Pride’ and ‘Deny and Offend’ providing some rousing choruses.
Mostly fitting into the Hardcore genre of music, The Sorrow Of Sound has vocals to fit – a mixture of screaming and singing, though not everyone will appreciate the blend of both in most songs, especially the harsher ones where the lyrics can sometimes here sound incoherent. However, even if you aren’t a fan of Hardcore music in general, Feed The Rhino’s latest offering is still worth a shot. From the slow burning tunes of ‘Black Horse’ to the aggressive sounds of ‘Bright Side of a Dark Ride,’ The Sorrow Of Sound has a great youthful energy about it that feels accessible to all music fans and not just one of the genre it resides in.
Full of spirit and zest, Feed The Rhino’s third album may have some aspects that might not appeal to everyone but it’s still a great compilation of music regardless. Giving animals with horns on their heads food is not a wise idea, giving bands named after them your time, is.
8.0/10.0
EMMA QUINLAN