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Title Fight

Title Fight Floral Green Album Artwork Cover
Title Fight
Floral Green
[Side One Dummy]

Title Fight are back with their second album, ‘Floral Green’, via label Side One Dummy, and it’s nothing short of amazing.

‘Floral Green‘ is one of those albums where right from the first track you know in your bones that its going to special. The album is a master class in post-hardcore punk, and it’s all rounded off with the perfect hint of melody.

The first three tracks have so much energy that they rattle out at you, like bullets fired from a machine gun. Yet they aren’t the only stars, on ‘Floral Green‘ every track is a gem. From the uplifting, high-tempo rawness of ‘Leaf’, to the slow waltzing, dissonance of ‘Head In The Ceiling Fan’ you can’t fault the band or the record.

If you like your punk in the post-hardcore vein, and for good measure you like energy broken up by a few slowed down melodies then you’ll love this album. If you hadn’t previously heard of Title Fight but you’re a fan of Crime In Stereo, The Wonder Years or Man Overboard, this one’s for you.

If you’re already part of the passionate Title Fight fan base then you’ll eagerly be wanting to buy this album anyway.

Words: JJ Nattrass

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Devil Sold His Soul


Devil Sold His Soul
‘Empire of Light’
[Small Town Records]

Imagine the moody and dark cinematic visuals of the brutal film ‘300’ crossed with a progressive post-hardcore band who like to spice things up with a bit of metal, and the result is ‘Empire Of Light’ by Devil Sold His Soul.

If you’re familiar with the band then you’ll already be prepared for what a gem this album is, if you’re new to DSHS then you’re in for a treat. ‘Empire of Light’ is the third full-length from the British band, and what an outstanding record it is…

From opening track ‘No Remorse No Regrets’ you get pulled into an album that manages to swagger between ear-bleedingly-brutal screams to soaring crescendos that almost lift you off the ground. With this album you are getting something very special. ‘Empire of Light’ is crafted beautifully. It swings from sublimely light harmonies to riffs and screams that will melt the flesh off your face.

In all honesty the tracks all feed into each other, so it’s very hard to pick out a single song with preference to another. Instead, the whole album plays as an EPIC sonic journey. If you had to throw in a few band comparisons, maybe early Architects, early We Are The Ocean and a bit of Devil Wears Prada crossed with something entirely different such as Rinoa.

If you love metal, post-hardcore or prog… wait scratch that… If you like any music at all that’s a bit ‘heavy’, then go buy this album straight away. We can guarantee you won’t regret spending the money, what you’ll get to listen to is an album from a band who have just begun to reach their enormous potential.

Words: JJ Nattrass

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As I Lay Dying


As I Lay Dying
‘Awakened’
[Metal Blade]

As far as metalcore is concerned, few have made the impact that As I Lay Dying have achieved. Arguably pioneers of the movement, and still its leaders, ‘Awakened’ is As I Lay Dying‘s 6th studio album. Expectations for the record are high.

As a whole it doesn’t disappoint; laden with meaty riffs and a tried and tested scream and clean vocal pattern, ‘Awakened‘ is quintessentially an As I Lay Dying record. Blasting in with ‘Cauterize‘ (which was offered as a free download in advance), the band’s intent is made clear from the the first note.

Tracks like ‘Resilience‘ show why the band have stayed close to so many hearts over the years; delicious shredding, tight drums, intoxicating melody and powerful vocals. Tim Lambesis is ever the dominant front man, with a scream second to none, his vocals resound over the music full of strength delivered at high intensity.

Despite ‘Awakened‘ having numerous positives, its hard not to compare it to previous full length, ‘The Powerless Rise’ and unfortunately it doesn’t quite match up. However, this isn’t a real criticism as it is hard to compete with the perfection displayed on their 2010 release. Nonetheless, ‘Awakened‘ will go down as one of this years best metal albums.

Words: Emma Wallace

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We Are The Ocean

WE ARE THE OCEAN
Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow
Hassle Records

With ‘Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow’ being the first album to come from British band We Are The Ocean since the slightly controversial departure of unclean vocalist Dan Brown, full attention will be paid to every move the band make on this one by fans and critics alike.

The first – and maybe most obvious thing – to say is that if you’re expecting more Alexisonfire inspired post-hardcore like their earlier releases ‘Cutting Our Teeth’ and ‘Look Alive’ you will be disappointed. Its clear that after Dan’s departure the band have sharpened up their image and gone for a more refined, mainstream sound with Liam Cromby stepping in to the lime light. Interestingly it’s similar process to what once tour partners Deaf Havana went through; who previously were a southern-hardcore inspired quintet lead by aggressive vocalist Ryan Mellor, now a straight-forward (but still bloody good) rock quartet with guitarist/clean-vocalist James Veck-Gilodi at the helm.

Its no surprise that Zane Lowe picked single ‘Bleed’ as his ‘Hottest Record In The World’ as it jumps straight out as the real star of the album. Other highlights include anthemic title-track ‘Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow’, sensitive opener ‘Stanford Rivers’ and ‘Pass Me By’ which has an almost Frank Turner-esque vibe to it.

Despite the album being solid, it may turn off some of their older fan base. With their newfound maturity, We Are The Ocean have lost a bit of charm; the gritty spark that saw them leap out of their local scene to dominate the underground market. The band won’t be too disheartened though as ‘Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow’ will sit comfortably on Radio 1’s playlist and HMV’s shelves, instantly appeal to fans of You Me At Six, Kids In Glass Houses, Lostprophets and (new) Deaf Havana. ‘Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow‘ is an focused and accessible album showcasing whats hot in British rock music right now. Its sure to be a hit and will see the We Are The Ocean boys go far.

Words: Emma Wallace

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Nuclear Death Terror

NUCLEAR DEATH TERROR
Chaos Reigns
(Southern Lord)

Hailing from Denmark, Nuclear Death Terror is a collective of rag-tag Punx from Euroland and beyond that have been knocking around for a while now. They released a great album a few years back, and also have a couple of 7”s under their bullet belts.

This new CD on Southern Lord collates their most recent release, the “Blood Fire Chaos Death” 12”, on D-takt & Råpunk Records, plus their 2 EP’s. It’s the four new tracks that interest me, and, after scraping myself off the wall, can confirm they are absolutely storming hell hammered metallic punk rock blasters, that will have even the most clean-cut amongst you reaching for your inner crust and shaking a clenched fist in the air, whilst all around chaos reigns.

If you worship at The Alter of Slayer, Tragedy and Antisect, then NDT will more than satisfy. This is raging, bleak, and ugly music that stares down at a world shrouded in violence and despair. I can imagine Robb Stark (of Winterfell) cranking NDT out in his tent, getting psyched to take his hardened troops into battle, annihilation, or death.

Pete Craven

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Circa Survive

CIRCA SURVIVE
Violent Waves

Some may find Circa Survive‘s latest offering an egocentric and self important waste of time, while those who appreciate its detail will see it more as a journey through fantasy realms of progressive music. It completely depends on how you like to enjoy your music. Let us discuss…

If you are after an absolute face-melter of a record, walk away now – this isn’t for you. But if you enjoy music as an overwhelming experience, put on your highest quality headphones and indulge in the artistic movement that is ‘Violent Waves‘.

During the whole of ‘Violent Waves‘ there is no one track that stands out, nothing that makes you sit up and concentrate. Though not outstanding, “Phantasmagoria” is perhaps the catchiest tune off of the album whilst “The Lottery” (feat. Geoff Rickly of Thursday) shows a mature post-hardcore approach. Despite being pleasant, both tracks could go unnoticed if you weren’t fully paying attention. Normally this would be a very harsh criticism, but what Circa Survive have produced here is a complex structure that intertwines as one complete piece rather than separate tracks, it appears it is meant to appreciated as a whole rather than sectioned; each song compliments the next, making the album more successful when played through in its entirety. On all tracks Anthony Green’s vocals seductively dance over a playful odyssey of Minus The Bear-esque riffs.

To summarize the point being made here, the album flows smoothly with surging peaks and troughs of emotion. ‘Violent Waves‘ is seduction for the senses. For listeners who have the patience to dive into its abyss, ‘Violent Waves‘ comes across as a masterpiece.

WORDS: EMMA WALLACE

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Obey The Brave

OBEY THE BRAVE
Young Blood
Epitaph Records

Ferocious drumming, intense vocals and deep riffs epitomise Obey The Brave‘s first release through Epitaph records, ‘Young Blood’. Ex-Despised Icon vocalist Alex Erian delivers sinister shouts and brutal screams, an example of his deathcore roots coming into their own and making ‘Young Blood‘ heavy. Very heavy indeed. Yet, although essentially a metalcore album, the two-step rhythms of modern hardcore raise ‘Young Blood‘ head and shoulders above the rest with guest vocals from Terror’s Scott Vogel on ‘Get Real‘ emphasising the ‘core’ element of this genre in all its glory.

With experimental interludes such as ‘Grim‘ flashes of more recent Emmure shine through, but the most relevant comparison has to be to The Ghost Inside’s ‘Get What You Give‘ which was released earlier in 2012. Originality is a slight down fall for Obey The Brave, there are plenty elements similar to Parkway Drive, Stick To Your Guns, Hundredth and many other metal/hardcore acts. But in all honesty Obey The Brave aren’t trying to be something special or something unique; during opener ‘Lifestyle‘ the lyrics “Not trying to reinvent the wheel – we keep it simple, we keep it real,” are performed with vehement passion, this band just want to make an impact with the intensity of their music and with ‘Young Blood’ thats a task well and truely achieved.

Words: Emma Wallace

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Bloc Party


BLOC PARTY
Four

You have no excuse not to know who Bloc Party unless you have been living in a South American rainforest, licking neon coloured toads for the past 10 years…

I can sum up their latest release in one sentence. It’s absolutely bloody amazing.

However as this is a review, I won’t leave it there, so let’s get the simple things out of the way first… ‘Four’ is a tour de force of indie guitar licks, riffs and hooks with all the Bloc Party trimmings.

Kele and co. have made us wait a while for their latest offering, but as soon as you press the play button, and you here the drum beat and distorted guitar that signal the start of ‘So He Begins To Lie’ you wont be able to sit still. This album works its way into your subconscious and induces some serious moments of tourettes-style head banging and foot stomping.

There isn’t a ‘bad’ track on this album. It swings between slow burning songs that build to a crescendo with squealing guitars through to some southern delta blues inspired throat-ripping guitar chords. The truth is, it is easy to love every single track on the album; so to pick a standout song is a bit of a task. Saying that, the songs that went down best here at Crossfire has to be the hauntingly epic ‘Real Talk’ and ‘V.A.L.I.S’, the hooktastic indie anthem that will have you singing along in not time at all.

If you’re into indie/rock then you should own this album. It’s one of the best albums to grace 2012 so far. A near perfect example of what Indie music should be.

WORDS: JJ NATTRASS

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P.O.S

P.O.S.
Bumper
Rhymesayers Entertainment/Doomtree Records

P.O.SIt’s been over three years since P.O.S dropped his last album, the superb Never Better but he’s been a busy guy. Not content with making his own records, Stefon Alexander has been involved with his crew Doomtree’s last album, the brilliantly titled group Marijuana Death Squads and guests spots for artists as eclectic as Gayngs and Dark Time Sunshine, so we can forgive him for taking his time over the new album.

Having heard a new track live when Doomtree supported Yelawolf in London earlier this year, his love of electronic music came to the fore with the bouncing beats kicking the crowd into a frenzy and with Bumper, another track from his upcoming full-length We Don’t Even Live Here, that influence is continued. The pounding drums lay the foundation for a track which on which the rapper boasts “they on some nonsense, we on some non-stop” as the jarring chorus melody and unrelenting bassline do the rest.

If this is a sign of what’s to come from the Minneapolitan, then 2012 is going to be an even bigger year for hip hop. Check out the video of Stef performing the track live and see how long you can last without pressing the reply button. We bet it won’t be more than five seconds.

Abjekt.

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Don Broco

DON BROCO
Priorities
[Search & Destroy Records]


Everyone loves a bit of catchy pop-punk from time to time, and Don Broco have offered some of the tastiest tracks of that variety to come from 2012 so far. The album opens up with title track ‘Priorities’, a great punchy start with lyrics that everyone can relate too… You know that friend that always ditches you as soon as they have a new partner? Well ‘Priorities’ is a tongue-in –cheek, patronizing outlook on those kinds of people.

In fact, Rob Damiani’s lyrics are a very matter of fact interpretation of trivial trials and tribulations that go on in every day life. Despite being so straight forward, the words aren’t just brushed away; they are easy to connect with making Don Broco’s album more engaging as a whole. However, there are also flashes of maturity with ‘Back In The Day’ commenting on the London riots. With similar intonation to Lower Than Atlantis’s Mike Duce (but with less of the arrogance and greater charm) Rob’s vocals add depth to ‘Priorities’.

Tracks such as ‘In My World’ are upbeat and uplifting, the guitar work could be compared to early Kids In Glass Houses whereas songs like ‘Actors’ sway more towards the punk side of pop and reflect bands like Transit, Title Fight and The Story So Far.

Full credit should be given to Don Broco for producing a truly pleasing album. With forthcoming festival appearances (including Reading & Leeds) and a UK tour with The Dangerous Summer, expect Don Broco to hit the big time right away.

WORDS: EMMA WALLACE