Friday 3 August 2012

Review: Burning Love - Rotten Thing to Say


Burning Love
Rotten Thing to Say

Chris Colohan has never had any problem getting good reviews from the hardcore community.  Fronting bands like Left for Dead, The Swarm, Countdown to Oblivion, and of course Cursed, his place as one of the most respected men in hardcore has been both well-earned and relatively unquestionable.  As a result, it becomes increasingly daunting to criticize the man’s work. 

I say all of this as a caveat to this review because I want readers to understand that I know that not everything Colohan touches is gold, and he isn’t in fact some sort of golden god...but Rotten Thing to Say honestly proves that if this man is singing for a band then it’s a smart move to sit up and take notice.  Well some write off Burning Love as the “not as heavy as Cursed” band, but if you throw out any expectations (good or bad) about what this band should be, then you are left with one of the tightest, most interesting bands in hardcore.

Blending rock, punk, hardcore, and metal, Rotten Thing to Say really never lets up in any meaningful way.  I’ve already gushed over songs like Karla in another review and on our podcast (thanks for all the downloads so far), but coupled with Hateful Comforts, the Body, and Pig City I & II, this album is an impressive improvement over their much-played-on-my-ipod debut album.

Another reason that I love this album is rooted in something I hate about the internet.  With the proliferation of websites like Reddit, a virulent, thuggish, and ill-informed kind of atheism has firmly taken hold within various online communities.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love me some atheism...but I’ve always tried to be an atheist without being a complete and total Bill-O’Reilly-style dick about it.  Songs like Superstitious Friend and Made out of Apes help show that people can express themselves eloquently and challenge the beliefs of others without seeming as bad as the fundamentalist you oppose.  

p.s. I put up the Toronto record release show cover because it's even better than the actual album cover.  Fuck Rob Ford.

Buy this album.  Seriously, do it!  Buy 3 copies and give 2 away to your friends.

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