Into Another
Ignaurus
Revelation Records
I'll be the first to admit that I haven't been too impressed with the previous releases from these New Yorkers, but Ignaurus seems to be several steps in the right direction.
Into Another still draws heavily on '70s metal like Black Sabbath or Rush for inspiration, but while the effect was cheesy in the past, on Ignaurus it all comes together pretty well.
And some of the songs Ä "Running Into Walls," for instance, with its melodic intro Ä throw some curves that, more often than not, work.
The only real clunker here is "Anxious," which closes out Ignaurus and lulls the listener to sleep. A better choice is to pretend that the album ends with "Drowning," the best song here.
Future releases will show if Into Another will continue to improve along these lines or fall back into old form. Ignaurus gives cause for hope.
Ä Greg D'Avis
Snapcase
Lookinglasself
Victory Records
The first full-length release from Buffalo's Snapcase moves toward a noisier sound than their older metallic straight-edge stuff. It's a good move.
The nine songs on Lookinglasself have a pattern Ä gut-wrenching vocals and chunky, stop-start hardcore. The biggest complaint would be that the songs are too long, but it's a minor one Ä for the most part, Snapcase holds up.
The songs also need a bit more distinction. They don't sound exactly the same, but at the same time, there isn't much from each song that sticks out. It's easy to remember parts of the album, but not each individual song.
The lyrics here are nothing special Ä personal growth stuff that doesn't do much for me. Not threatening, but not very interesting either.
There's still room for growth here, particularly in the lyrics, but overall this is pretty solid.
Ä Greg D'Avis
Sense Field
Killed For Less
Revelation Records
Jon Bunch's new band has finally put out a release that's going to be widely available, and it's about time, I must say.
Bunch sang for the southern California hardcore band Reason To Believe a few years back, and his amazing vocal range set that band apart from the pack. Sense Field has put out a couple of limited-availability compact discs, but unless you happened to be in the California area when they came out, finding them was a bit of a chore.
Bunch doesn't get as much of a chance to show off his range on Killed For Less, but this is still a vital album. The music, not quite hardcore but with more of a bite than general rock, is also quite fine.
The only complaint, and it's a minor one, is that two or three of the 14 songs here could have been cut. Without some of the slackers, this album would have been tighter and better.
For example, the first song, "Today and Tomorrow," is great. The third song, "Blue Glass Man," is great. But the second song, "Papercut," is, uh, not great.
But hey, that's why they invented the skip function. You need this album.
Ä Greg D'Avis Read Next Article