Cold Reality,
Hollow GroundI may have lost the press sheet for this release or perhaps it just didn’t come with one, but either way I had to do a little research on this lot. Although once I took a glimpse at the CDs artwork I was afraid I would be in for one big metallic hardcore cliché; a head with bandages covering the eyes and mouth juxtaposed against lots of dark grey shroud. Now I know I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover etc, but I wasn’t really too far off the mark at all…
However, as soon as the opening track, ‘Ill Fate’, kicked in it seemed as if I may have stumbled across a band of this ilk that actually excites me: fast palm-muted guitars underlain by powerhouse drumming and vocals which carry more aggression that a coked up Stella drinker on a Friday night but without the usual horrible and substance lacking screams, just pure raw and unadulterated growls. Unfortunately though, this is the best track out of the six that this Canadian five-piece have come up with on this release.
The rest of the EP doesn’t really go downhill though; it just stagnates and idles along with one chugging breakdown riff blurring into the next, whilst leaving little scope for imagination and inventiveness. The band clearly know their way their respective instruments, as can be heard on the suitably trashy ‘Torn to Pieces’, so it comes across as a little frustrating when their ideas are limited to quite a large extent with little expansion.
This is by no means a weak release; there are no oddities or random moments of pretentiousness which is something that can be appreciated in its own right. The only thing really holding it back is the similarities between each track, on a casual listen you will not really hear where one track ends and another begins mainly due to a lack of definitive structures. Not my cup of tea but there is certainly nothing here to put off avid fans of the genre as it’s on par with the majority of stuff out there; it’s just not leading the pack.
-Mike
www.hollow-ground.com
www.organizedcrimerecords.com
