Since By Man

Pictures From The Hotel Apocalypse

Written by: PP on 14/11/2005 00:28:21

Milwaukee's Since By Man's sophomore album "Pictures From The Hotel Apocalypse" sends seismic waves across the US hardcore/melodic hardcore scenes. "Emergency And Me" opens as an unmelodic, ear-shattering piece of hardcore similar to Beecher's debut album, with hardly understandable, dexterious vocal work by Sam Macon, which shortly after breaks down into a complex guitar riff, and less sharp, though still angry vocals. Throughout the album, it's almost possible to hear what Sam has to say, but you'll always have to resort to the lyrics sheet before being entirely sure; his vocals are those soared-kind, passionately screamed out ones, that sound oddly pleasing to your ear once getting used to. In the beginning, it's easy to get scared away by Sam, but if you get past his rough vocals, a world of complex guitars and ever-changing song structures in the vein of The Fall Of Troy opens up right before your eyes - something you were blind to before getting over Sam's rough-edged vocals - with the stand-out tracks "Match On Action" and "Photographer Ex Post Facto" leading the way for the album. "Pictures From The Hotel Apocalypse" is worth purchasing already for these two tracks only, as both of them belong to the absolute elite of both hardcore and melodic hardcore scenes.

There are hardly any songs on the album that lack quality or intensity as also demonstrated by the insanely harsh "Binary Heart Attack", the roughest track on the album. Partly due to Sam's full-blown screamed out repetitions of "heart attack, heart attack", and partly due to the equally powerful verses, the band proves that they can fight in the big league of the hardest of the hardest, while at the same time being able to show their softer side on tracks such as "Insider Lines".

On top of all this, the artwork for the album is amazing and well fitting to the title, they are truly "Pictures From THe Hotel Apocalypse"; pictures of despair, love, hatred, confusion and indifference can be found within the booklet, which seems overly simplistic from the outside, but once opened it lets all hell lose. Don't expect anything groundbreaking, but it's a damn good hardcore effort.

8

Download: Match On Action
For the fans of: The Fall Of Troy, Beecher

Release date 24.10.2005
Revelation Records
Provided by Target ApS

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