Thursday, 22 March 2012

Review: Rise and Fall - Faith

Rise and Fall
Faith


Track Listing:
01 – A Hammer And Nails
02 – Deceiver
03 – The Gallows Await
04 – Burning At Both Ends
05 – Things Are Different Now
06 – Breathe
07 – Hidden Hands
08 – Escapism
09 – Dead Weight
10 – Faith Fate

Nowadays there is no shortage of crusty, d-beat, integrity/ring worm/entombed-style bands littering the hardcore landscape.  As someone who arrived at hardcore via metal, this has always been a style that I enjoyed, but lately it has become somewhat tiresome (as any over-saturated genre will).  Fortunately, Rise and Fall is still able to show the imitators how it should be done. Faith very much starts where Into Oblivion and Our Circle is Vicious left off, but there is a quality to this album raises it above their previous efforts in several ways. 

Beginning the album with songs like “A Hammer and Nails” and “The Gallows Await” helps establish Faith as one of the most impressive and crushing hardcore releases of the year, while tracks like “Breathe” and “Faith/Fate” demonstrate that Rise and Fall are no slouches when it comes to more dynamic and complex song writing as well.  Although I often feel that these types of esoteric songs are thoughtless add-ons that hardcore bands use to feel/sound artistic, the progression of style and mood throughout this album seems to fit perfectly.  Nothing seems forced, overdrawn, or out of place, which isn’t always the easiest task, especially on an album with song lengths that range from 1:14 to 6:46.

Despite my appreciation for the more complex and lengthier songs on this album, I keep coming back to the fast-paced and anthemic tracks on Faith.  As much as I love artistic exploration and other such wanker-associated elements of music, my true love lies with devastatingly heavy riffs and shout-along choruses.  It is in these aspects that Rise and Fall has really found their niche.  “Deceiver” stands out as the most impressive track on this album for exactly these reasons.  Throat-shredding screams of “Deceiver! Trojan Horse!” mesh perfectly with the track’s monstrous riffs and chaotic song writing. 

Final Word: While it may seem like I just spent three paragraphs washing Rise and Fall’s balls with my tongue, I am actually just giving credit where credit is due.  This album stands out as the high point for a band with an already impressive history.

Favourite Tracks: Deceiver, Faith/Fate

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