Change can certainly be a great thing…
Thursday, September 29th, 2005
Wow, yeah, holy shit… despite its minor setbacks I knew from the moment I first heard The Warriors’ debut album that the band had something special to offer, and they’re certainly coming closer to fully realizing that vision on “Beyond the Noise”, their latest full-length offering from Eulogy Recordings. Aside from the unique vocals and a few chunky metallic hardcore rhythms this material sounds very little like The Warriors of old. Make no mistake though, that’s actually not a bad thing, they’ve just kind of morphed into this much more developed unit that’s dealing in far more of a post-hardcore sort of territory – one where surging rhythms and the intense layering of dissonant melodies and lightly caustic guitar textures lay the foundation for intriguingly arranged vocal patterns that continue to differentiate the band from their contemporaries. Though in all truth, at this rate they’re not going to have many “contemporaries” left, because few others are really doing this kind of thing at the moment.
It’s cool, too, because in a lot of cases “post-hardcore” is almost like code for “wimpy” on some level, you know? Admit it, even if it’s great, most bands that are deemed “post-hardcore” are tagged as such because their music is “hardcore, but not that hard“, right? But this record is still pretty damn hard in many respects, there’s just no denying that it’s on another level, and I’ll be damned if the nature of the good majority of these riffs wouldn’t have put this album more at home in the mid-90’s alongside Orange 9mm and company (but that’s not a comparison, just a point of reference). Oh, and it’s also worth noting that these days the band’s sounding fuller and more efficient in the production realm as well, and the recording on this outing is indeed another impressive step forward. Slick layout with handwritten lyrics and all that, too. This is just a damn well done album all around, to the point where I’m actually really fuckin’ curious to see what’s gonna come of it. I was seriously shocked when I first popped this thing in. Great work… I’m impressed.
The Warriors “Dice Game”
The Warriors “Re-Vital-Eyes”
If you dig the tracks please support the band and the label by buying the CD for yourself:
@ Eulogy Recordings
@ RevHQ
@ Very Distribution
Also from Eulogy Recordings and also a shocking improvement is Casey Jones’ newest record, “The Messenger”. I’m not gonna lie, I liked “The Few, the Proud, the Crucial”, but I don’t know if I even have that disc anymore because it didn’t hold up but so well over time, and in most cases I can’t really hang with “humor” in my hardcore. There’s still a degree of lightheartedness hanging around on this album, but it’s a little more blatantly bitter and sarcastic this time around. Plus, from a musical standpoint this is a mixed bag that jumps from the crunchy and relatively straightforward metallic hardcore of old to some crazy melodic riffing that borders on having a Fat Wreck sort of pop-punk edge to it (in a good way). And believe me, there’s more melody and catchiness than not on this thing, so… it’s a pretty damn shocking change of pace, but damn if I’m not all for it.
Of course, the more things change, the more they stay the same, so lyrically speaking the material’s still pissed as hell and pulls no punches, with plenty of unrepentantly straightedge anthems and all that stuff. The older I get I’m finally starting to get a little bored of straightedge tunes, but at the same time I’m still surprised at how few bands there are currently keeping that whole niche alive, so I definitely hold an appreciation for those who choose to keep flying that flag. I kind of wish the recording was slightly more polished up around the edges, but it sounds pretty strong, and I’m digging the bulk of the songwriting enough for it to win out in the end. Hell, the entire disc’s only about 27 minutes long, so… they keep the energy moving for the most part. Some of the riffs on this record are completely badass and totally up my alley, so I’m pretty psyched in that regard. Hopefully this is indicative of the direction the band will continue to explore in the future. Well done…
Casey Jones “1 Out of 3 Has an STD”
Casey Jones “Time’s Up”
Hopefully a few other people will be as pleased as I am with the progression this band has made over the years, so if you’re one of ‘em then I wholly encourage you to pick up the disc for yourself:
@ Eulogy Recordings
@ RevHQ
@ Very Distribution
Original post by Andrew @ AVERSIONLINE and software by Elliott Back
