Hardcore, but good
It's really easy to dislike hardcore, I know this for a fact as I've been disliking it for years, ninety second long songs of noise and shouting trying to pass themselves off as music. Thirty five minute albums with nineteen tracks on them and the only way you can tell they've moved from song to song is by watching the counter on your cd player, "Good grief I'm up to song eight already and I'm only half way through my cup of coffee"
Path of no return (PONR) are a hardcore band, didn't see that coming did you? Hailing from Sweden where everyone lives these days, this is their second album, the first being 'Black nights coming' back in 2005. PONR have somehow constructed a hardcore album that doesn't stink, in fact I'd go so far as to say it's quite good.
Ok before we all get carried away it does still feature full on hardcore vocals which isn't so much singing as venting your spleen at the top of your tortured miserable voice, however underneath that is a band that know how to play, when they're playing simple stuff it's because they want to, not because they peaked on track one. Did I mention I don't like hardcore, I may have been exaggerating, what I meant to say is I don't like hardcore that isn't trying to do anything but make a fucking row.
PONR have obviously sat down and worked these songs out, with break downs and strange tangents creating an album that while retaining all of the anger and angst that comes with hardcore also manages to portray a little thoughtfulness which adds maturity to a genre that usually loses everything to a wall of noise.
Production wise it's a bit messy especially on the drum side of things, but this fits perfectly with the style of music, it gives it that raw edge of a band that could be ripping it up in a garage or on a floodlit stage, it's all the same to them. I'd say they have integrity and conviction that comes across in this uncompromising slab of metal.
It still has a ninety second song on it but to be honest it's an instrumental aside, something else not usually seen on hardcore albums and reinforces the fact that these guys have something just slightly different to offer. For me that's the difference between everyone else and something good. Last song is over five minutes, that's an epic in hardcore land.
So to sum up really quick I think this is damn good for a hardcore album, still not something I'd play to death for my own amusement but if you like hardcore this should be on your list of things to hear.
Check em out here