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Ok, here’s a wee plea from us at Attitude Towers. Please send us some stuff. Whether you’re a record company or an unsigned band, we’d like to hear your stuff. We’re generally prompt with our reviews and do give an honest opinion about the music. Anyway, as if you haven’t guessed, we’ve been a bit strapped for stuff to review this issue. So that’s why this months big review comes from a genre that none of us are qualified to talk about, hardcore. This months lucky ones are Veil, with Words Vs Nothing. I think this release is quite old and apologies must be given to all concerned but the delay was caused due to our hardcore guy not doing his work. Well, us guys and gals at Attitude are always willing to appreciate all forms of music, and there’s no better way to do it than through the spectrum that is the (sometimes) Big Review. Fuck the government, this is Hardcore. |
Veil
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Ok, I know little about Hardcore so, barring the odd bit of Biohazard and Handsome, this is pretty much unknown territory. I was expecting shouting, political posturing, and possibly straight edge philosophies. And I guess I might have got it, not sure about the last one though. However Veil do it all in a rather appealing way. Heal kicks in with some fabulous riffing and a nice aggressive stance, which has a little bit more metal to it than I had expected. Place to Be is more laid back, adding an almost poppy feel, reminding me slightly of Life of Agony. Indeed, unlike many other Hardcore and Metal acts, Veil seem to be willing to add a number of different styles into their musical melting pot. Maybe the Hardcore veterans are none too impressed by this, but as an outsider it makes for a more colourful listen. Aggressive and to the point, Veil slip into the Metal world a little too much maybe to class them as purely Hardcore. Some sections, like the riffs that permeate Shell, actually could go hand in hand with your new metal stars of today, but then again, Veil seem a lot more skilled than Coal Chamber. The album can get a little samey at times, but then again heavy music generally does, unless you’re extremely good at it. Nonetheless Veil do add enough groove in places to push the songs above the average. Although not something I’d normally listen to, Words Vs Nothing is more than a competent album which will appeal to Hardcore and Metal kids alike. Go on, give them a chance. Graeme's Rating: ********** To ED, Could we maybe have a multi-review that
was a little bit close to the music I like. ME. Anyway on with the review, not knowing much about death metal-esque albums I don't know if this is short or not, although at just over 30 mins its not the longest album in the world, although it had 12 songs. I said death metal-esque due to the vocals and heavily distorted guitar, but apart from that the songs are not particularly fast or death metal. The drums are more like Pist.on with a drum beat rather than the machine gun snare and running mouse with big boots on bass drums. I did feel that the songs were very similar and didn't offer anything that hadn't been heard before. All of the songs are muddy with the vocals almost hidden by the guitars and some of the more intricate drum work being lost on the listener. Not listening to much of this style I can't really rate it but I have heard worse. [Malky] I won't bother reiterating that we at Attitude are not really into Hardcore (oops), but this is not a bad example of the genre. It's very much a metal crossover thingy, and for large chunks throughout the vocals are the only clue that it's not straight metal. The songs are all very short and punchy, with only four of the twelve reaching 3 minutes. 9 to 5 is heavy, catchy, and at points memorable track which sets the album quite well in context. Throughout the album there a number of other tracks along similar lines, but as I would have expected, it begins to drag after a while. There's only so much a man can take you know. The direction these guys take next COULD be interesting, then again they could so easily become shit. I wonder. Kevin's Verdict: Snappy metalcore Yeah, cool!! That’s my immediate impression of this album… it’s refreshing to get an album to review that doesn’t sound like the band have got their heads firmly shoved up their arses! No fifteen minute intros here, man – just straight ahead kick-ass rock n’ roll. The energy in this album is great. They remind me in many ways of Entombed in terms of overall sound, especially the vocal style and bulldozer guitars, with the energy of the likes of Backyard Babies - which can only be a good thing. One slight bone of contention I have with this album is that there is little variety in the songs – they’re all of the same general sound, and can often blend into each other. But then again, when the songs are as good as they are here, who really cares?! Veil have managed to capture the energy of their music on this album – an energy that unfortunately can often be lost in many albums. They should be a cool band to see live. If you’re looking for a fun, aggressive mixture of metal and rock n’ roll, then check this album out. Scot's Verdict: An energetic fun swim in the choppy waters of heaviness – You won’t be disappointed. |
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