Killing The Dream, Lucky Me
Is that a violin I hear on “Blame The Architects?” I must be experiencing some sort of auditory hallucination — this is a (post-)hardcore album, right? Is that allowed? It is? Well, then it appears Blacklisted don’t have the monopoly on this sort of thing. Actually, they still do, as that’s the only adventurous track on Killing The Dream’s latest Deathwish offering. For the most part, Elijah Horner screams his resentful emo heart out over seven unabashedly Bane-ful cuts. I’m sure it’s been a rough life, but I suspect like many of his peers, Horner will persevere. Closing track “Black” fractionally salvages this otherwise rudimentary run-through of contemporary hardcore, with post-rock atmospherics that make the most of the quintet’s two guitarists. The J. Bannon artwork looks most elegant.

(2.5 out of 5 horns)

First Blood, Silence Is Betrayal
It’s easy for me to resist the urge to make Rambo references here as I’ve never seen any of those films, though I’ve sat through almost all of the Rocky franchise. On this, their first album since 2006′s Killafornia, Carl Schwartz’s post-Terror ensemble demonstrate their style with a reinforced sense of political awareness and social obligation. No sophomore slump here, folks; these twelve meaty cuts wont disappoint devotees of in-your-face metallic hardcore. The passionate, principled sentiments behind Schwartz’s lyrics coupled with an overabundance of speech samples add a weight and heavy-handed militancy to the proceedings — yet to what end? After listening to such potent bruisers as “Enslaved” or “Enemy,” I feel compelled to rise up, but exactly whom I’m meant to violently rebel against remains nebulous. Anarchy or the Tea Party?

(3 out of 5 horns)

-GS