I like my ear drums. I don't know what I'd do without them, especially considering how much I love music, but I'm a bit neglectful of them sometimes. How, you ask (I know you didn't ask)? Well, it's simple. I find bands like Sabertooth, who pillage my hearing with their vicious audio assault. I have no one to blame but myself because I willingly put myself in the line of fire with this one. Only, this time, my ears weren't just ringing in pain, but in pleasure.
These guys are hardcore, a genre I used to be very familiar with, but have since distanced myself from for really no good reason (There just isn't much good hardcore out there these days really I think). It's a bit on the tough-guy side, but outside of the vocal stylings and occasional chugging breakdowns, it's kind of unique. I'm not saying it's going to change to world of hardcore music forever, but they've deviated enough from the doldrums of hardcore to create something often chaotic and almost manic. It's loud, with riffs that don't always seem standard for music of this caliber.
"Spiders" really took a hold of me because I felt it didn't match what the other songs were doing 100%. I'm not saying the other songs all sound the same, but there's a somberness here that is undeniable, and while "Spiders" doesn't seem to be singing about helping mankind or donating money to a animal rescue shelter, it does play peppier, more punk vibe than just spazy hardcore. It's break up the cloud that looms over you while the album is playing, and even a guy like me who loves clouds needs a break from them now and again.
However, tracks like "Sheol" and "Necro" assure you that you are indeed listening to a legitimate hardcore album. They've got most of the tropes you've come to know and love about hardcore music (If you even like hardcore music that is), so any of you out there looking to whip your hoodie on and start some random living-room mosh-pit will be thrilled to know these songs deliver. Others like "Brother" and "Drones" don't deliver quite as much as the others, but they have enough going for them to be fine additions to the album and not just forgettable piles of shit.
Sheol is good, and while it's a bit shrill and occasionally abrasive, nothing deviates the goodwill towards it too much to really warrant saying anything bad about it. There is plenty of room to improve their sound, but what they have right now is a pretty good building block. My ears might be cursing me out right now for listening to it, but just wait till I listen to it again after I finish writing this review - Shane
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