REVIEWS
Radio War The Rising of the Talentless (7")
Radio War's debut 7" is pretty much like a kick in your guts. Furious stright forward hard-core-trash a la From Ashes Rise but from Richmond, VA.
The 7" starts off with "The Boy Gangs of Richmond", a pretty slow, but really good, song and then it all breaks out in total fury on the three remaining cuts.
I like every minute of it, especially the faster tunes. "They Live", a big "fuck you" to the world of consuming is the high-point on this record according to me.
Radio War mean business and I really hope I'll get to hear some more stuff from this band soon.
- Mutinyzine.com
Radio War play a brand of hardcore that will have you second-guessing your comparisons. One moment, the band is implanted firmly within the realm of a band like Dead Hearts -- the next, they're noticeably faster and somewhat thrashier.
I'm basically talking about Side A of the band's The Rising of the Talentless 7", though. The brooding, dark and combustible nature of opener "The Boy Gangs of Richmond" brings the Dead Hearts similarity to mind, especially with a first line describing one of the five senses' reactions to urban life ("the city smells like gunpowder on days like these"). Yet next, "Needful Things" finds a tempo suddenly matching the intensity; one particular line's delivery reminds me exactly of Celebrity Murders ("I'm constantly surrounded by human detritus"). Then during the closer, "They Live!," I get kind of a Ruiner vibe, mostly due to the opening riff that's rather reminiscent of Ruiner's "Getting Over the Overs."
Still, Radio War straddle that line well. The Rising of the Talentless is plenty diverse without going too over the top. It could use some fleshing out and less obvious moments (by coincidence or not), but the songs are well-recorded and overall there's a solid EP here.
- Punknews.org
Richmond has always had an impressive hardcore scene, so it's no surprise to hear good things from the city in Radio War. The Rising of the Talentless is the band's first label release and the second for upstart Copper Lung Records.
This 7” comes packed with four tracks of gritty and groove-heavy hardcore punk. “The Boy Gangs of Richmond” is a nice building number that demonstrates that a hardcore band can show some restraint and still capture the intensity of aggressive music. Radio War chugs through this EP with a concoction of metallic hardcore, also showing hints of influence from d-beat mainstays Tragedy. Lyrically, the songs mostly focus on discussing sociological issues. Overall, a solid band that I'm looking forward to hearing more from.
P.S. I can't believe they named a song “Gizmo Duck.” I love Duck Tales.
- Scenepointblank.com
The first thing I get excited about is the color of the seven inch. (Yellow pastel!) That probably says something about the music, right? Maybe it just says something about hardcore music. When the needle hits the vinyl, I come upon the realization that snare drums and screaming will infinitely sound great together. They merge souls like prescription medication and wine. Simply put, Radio War is hardcore. Thrash. Screamo? Whatever the fuck you want to call it, they don't try to overcompensate for the boring state of hardcore. The sounds from their debut 7" are both cacophonous and melodic. Even when the rhetorical chorus breaks on "Gizmo Duck" yelling "smile and laugh" over and over, I still don't cast them aside because every other track on this EP makes up for the poor choice of redundancy. Four stars out of?
- Razorcake
Set Foot Aging (7")
Set Foot's "Aging", the latest release from Copper Lung Records is yet another record that shows that this label is more about the raw energy rather than techniqe and mellow melodies. This band from Vancover, Canada has been around for about two years and this six-song 7" is packed with rough old-school hardcore in the vein of Integrity. The lyrics are pretty dark which fits the sound just perfectly. This might not be the feel-good record of the year but it's still awesome. Look it up if you like the rough stuff.
- Mutinyzine.com
Set Foot is a fairly straightforward hardcore band from Vancouver, British Columbia. They may hail from the Pacific Northwest but they're far different from their brethren in the likes of Champion, Sinking Ships, Blue Monday, etc. Rather than draw influence from the worlds of youth crew and posi-revival hardcore, Set Foot takes to the metallic edge.
Aging is the band's debut offering. The six songs bring together blistering riffage, a thundering rhythm section, and an aggressive vocal delivery. The songs combine the heaviness of 90's hardcore sound with a bit of a thrash influence, not unlike Pulling Teeth. The lyrics are introspective and somewhat revealing, but never come off as overly personal.
Set Foot is a young band worth looking into. They're off to a good start with this 7”. I'd like to hear a longer recording so I could see a bit more variety in their songwriting.
- Scenepointblank.com
Gray Ghost s/t (10")
Gray Ghost elicit the type of sound their name would seem to imply if you aren't a huge Batman nerd. This Atlanta quintet play haunting, progressive and methodically paced hardcore that can creatively churn one moment and then burst into a somehow sluggishly fast-paced cross-section the next.
Vocalist Sky's scratchy and straining but occasionally comprehendible scowl is similar to David Marion's delivery on Fear Before the March of Flames' The Always Open Mouth; musically, moments on that particular album are even comparable, but keep in mind Gray Ghost employ no electronics and bound themselves considerably tighter within a given genre. Nevertheless, Sky's spitting frustration sounds apt over the band's brooding atmospheres, which are consistently dark and dragging, akin to a significantly more rugged Isis -- or His Hero Is Gone, only less scruffy and drained of the D-beat. But all the while, subtle changes really push the 10" forward; a little uptick in tempo during "Soul Seekers / Faith Stealers" gives it sort of a two-step part for those that need dancing action, but it quickly dissipates to allow the guitars to pick up in volume, howling and bellowing to finish the song.
That's largely why Gray Ghost works so well. Through a near-constant level of dissonance and desolation, especially the bitter violence permeating the lyrics to "Wolves & Hounds" and "Holy Hell," is an experimental edge lending itself to the tempos, pacing, guitar riffs and texture -- rather, the band's conscience practice of inserting changeups to keep the songs interesting. And they're just talented enough to make it work at an average of five minutes apiece.
Consequently, this is a very cool and accomplished 10" EP, striking a compelling balance among sludgy hardcore, mammoth instrumetal scores and post-rock screamo tendencies.
- Punknews.org
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