OLD LINES - No Child Left Behind
October 8, 2014, 9 years ago
(No Sleep Records)
Nice, refreshing 22-minute major rager here, a big ol' raw slice of grinding hardcore that brings to mind greats like Nails, Trap Them, and Tragedy. I absolutely love the production sound, huge and distorted just right, and the playing has so much crazed energy to it: the drumming on "The Quick Sales" shows just how exciting hardcore can be when played loose and from the heart, the guy racing just behind the d-beat, the listener waiting with baited breath to hear if he pulls it all off or just falls behind, giving up, the rest of the band trucking along, oblivious. He pulls it off, barely, and, again, that's the thrill. Meanwhile, a song like "War Is Declared" has just enough His Hero Is Gone in its apocalyptic sludge-crust to keep the goosebumps raised and the head banging all at once, always a great combo (see also: most recent Vallenfyre, which sports a similar production sound). It's just a beautiful mess; may Old Lines never clean it up, and may they never put out an album longer than 22 minutes: it's the perfect length for such anxiety-drenched (and fast... just fast) tunes.