Genre: Hardcore
Label: Facedown
Date of Release: February 5, 2013
METALLIC HARDCORE ON REPEAT
Hardcore
is possibly one of the most common and prominent forms of Christian music that
has ever scoured the scene. The large following of both old-school acts, such
as Black Flag and Zao, and more modern groups, such as For Today and August
Burns Red, has proven the great popularity of this faithful genre. In the
modern domain, Pittsburgh crushers Those Who Fear is absolutely no exception. A
quintet that assembled in 2005, this group released their first EP in 2011, simply
entitled “Legacy.” There, they make their debut to the hardcore scene with
their large abundance of slow yet crushing breakdowns that showcased plenty of
potential for the band. This EP turned the heads of Christian metal and
hardcore label Facedown Records, and subsequently, in 2013, Those Who Fear
unleashed their first full-length beast fittingly named “Unholy Anger.” The
album boasts twelve violent tracks, out to ravage the scene alongside its
predecessor.
While
the musicianship overall is nothing particularly special, it nonetheless holds
up strongly. The aggressive vocals are incredibly rough and tempestuous, but
this is not even half of the brutality that “Unholy Anger” displays throughout.
The instrumentation is just as abrasive, especially the guitar work. They are
mainly composed of crude, pummeling riffs and chugs that engulf the album
almost entirely. Although this is frankly all that can be said about the guitar
play, it does assist in building the album’s solid framework of musical brutality.
The same may also be stated about the drums. They demonstrate an energetic yet
solid sound that makes the framework even sturdier and more potent. The sound
production was done by Josh Schroeder, who has also worked in mixing and
mastering albums for other projects, such as A Plea For Purging, The Burial,
and Your Memorial. It is done very well, administering a somewhat crunchy yet
clear sound for the music that makes all of the musical elements shine without
sounding overly sterile and processed. In conclusion, the musicianship and
production in this album are nicely done.
Those
who read the album’s title, “Unholy Anger,” are highly likely to find that the
music is quite fitting towards this name. This record is one-hundred percent brutal
and simply unrelenting hardcore, packed with incredibly heavy guitar work,
aggressive vocals, and violent yet solid drums. There is a grand abundance of destructive
breakdowns that could surely transform a standing crowd into a vehement mosh
pit with just one of the album’s tracks. The great buildups to these breakdowns
also add more fuel to the fire that the tracks breathe. Whenever these
breakdowns are not ravaging the listener’s eardrums, the band instead treads
down the two-step hardcore route, with steadily paced yet still rather intense parts.
These two elements transition and flow well with each other, since they are,
for the most part, evenly paced between each other. While it is, like the
musicianship, nothing new or innovative, “Unholy Anger” is one of those
hardcore records that knows what it is: A violent, vehement, and angry album.
Unfortunately,
aside from the visible lack of conceptual originality and the typical and
sometimes silly and overdone Christian empowerment lyrics, there is one
enormous and horrific flaw that renders “Unholy Anger” as a rather difficult
album to fully enjoy throughout: The repetitiveness. All of the songs sound
almost, if not entirely, the same, with overly similar breakdowns, overly
similar pacing, and overly similar structure. Although there are very few
instances where one can distinguish certain songs from others from specific
segments in each one of them, the majority of the songs all have far too much
in common, coming across as different versions or remixes of the same song. As a result, the album is tragically
altered from a nice and violent dose of Christian hardcore to a bland and
rather dull stream. This is truly a shame, because the music itself is quite
decent, showcasing the brutal side of the hardcore realm well. Sadly, this decency
is chained down by the repetitiveness and the sameness of the songs in this
album, and, as a result, “Unholy Anger” does not successfully reach a proper
level of full enjoyment.
“Unholy
Anger” is an above-average hardcore release; while the album does bear the
burden of that one fatal shortcoming, it is certainly not abysmal. It does
brandish a handful of good points, including the solid musicianship, solid
production, and even more solidly structured and brutal hardcore. The music is
very potent and uncompromising, and, as stated earlier, each track alone is
enough to conjure violent frivolity in the mosh pits. In regards to the hardcore
itself, Those Who Fear succeeded in producing some nice and brutal hardcore
tracks. Unfortunately, what this album did not succeed in was making the songs
distinct from each other. The fact that the vast majority of the songs are far
too congruent to each other for their own good prevents this album from being a
completely engaging record. However, that being said, hardcore fans and those new
to that genre may take pleasure in listening to this. While this is definitely
not starting off on a very strong foot, there is still some underlying
potential in “Unholy Anger” that may unveil itself in the future.
Score: 5.5/10 (Average+)