This is a really odd CD, and subsequently a really difficult one to review. Five bands, all pretty different, all Scandanavian and all plying a brand of post-hardcore (or one of its various sub-species!). From the Refused-esque notions of The Sound oe, to the Poison The Well stylings of Set My path, who, for me, are pretty shit. I don’t really want to run through all of the bands in detail, after all there are only so many adjectives to describe the same old shit. However, I’ll give a little band-by-band description for anyone who may be interested:
The Sound oe – Arguably the best band here, they sound a little like Refused or At The Drive In, with crashing guitars and drums, yet maintain quite a bit of melody. ‘The Solitaire’ is one of the best songs on this CD.
Set My Path – Metalcore from Sweden and have shared stages with Darkest Hour and Nine, but for me there’s no passion or energy, just a weak bark from the vocalist.
The Lolita Stasi Collective – This is really badly produced, so the three songs they offer don’t really make a lasting impact. However, the songs are reasonably imaginitive and the riff in ‘Bulldozer’ could be quite ferocious live.
Madison – Not the US pop-punk band, but a riff heavy Swedish band of the same name. One of the better bands on the comp, but the vocals again don’t make me weak at the knees and the riffs are a little too metalcore-by-numbers.
Rentokiller – The most agrressive band of the bunch, and by far the best. A bit spazzy in places, the guitars really bite and the vocals are superb. Basically, they do everything the other bands try, yet fail, at. ‘This Ghostown Includes A Fools Paradise’ is genius.
This is a five band split that’s by no means essential, but check out The Sound oe and Rentokiller if you’ve a spare five minutes…
Paul