Embrace the Kill/ Hellmouth/ In Defence/ Opposition Rising 4-way split 7” review
I want to like this record; I really, really do. Four stellar bands on the same piece of wax and some artwork by Alex Awn is a recipe that sounds like it will churn out a tasty recipe of a record. However, the result, while not bad, by any means, is a bit underwhelming. It starts off well enough, with Embrace the Kill’s track “Blacklisted” pushing its way along, delivering a heavy, hard, hopeless and bleak black metal-influenced crust tune. The song rules, and Embrace the Kill further solidifies itself as a killer west coast crust band (among who include Tragedy, From Ashes Rise, Asymmetric Warfare, Short Changed, and loads more). Next is Hellmouth’s “Amen Assholes”, a favorite song by a notably popular Detroit group that most in the area familiar with. However, this song was apparently an earlier tracking of the song, and with it is a lesser level of quality. Nothing is wrong with the song, but the levels, the mix, the sound quality… something is just not right.
Following this is the In Defence track “United Farces”, again earlier tracking of a song that would later be renamed and slightly reworked to “Corporate Bailout”. This one suffers from the same problems as the Hellmouth track, although I liked this track of Ben Crew’s vocals better than the one used on “Corporate Bailout”. The saving grace of this record would come in the Opposition Rising track “F.T.W.”, an oft-used acronym for a feeling that resonates in many of us. Before deviating this into another populist misanthropic rant, I’ll return to the record: Opposition Rising puts out probably the best track of theirs on this split (best compared to the rest of the songs on their Aftermathematics LP, which too rules). Formed from the intact remains of Mouth Sewn Shut, the band is essentially the next chapter in the Toxic Narcotic saga. While Mouth Sewn Shut (and Opposition Rising as well, for that matter) is known mostly for their blends of crust, hardcore, and reggae, this track is more of a hardcore track, but still retains the traditional M.S.S./ O.R. aura.
Following this is the In Defence track “United Farces”, again earlier tracking of a song that would later be renamed and slightly reworked to “Corporate Bailout”. This one suffers from the same problems as the Hellmouth track, although I liked this track of Ben Crew’s vocals better than the one used on “Corporate Bailout”. The saving grace of this record would come in the Opposition Rising track “F.T.W.”, an oft-used acronym for a feeling that resonates in many of us. Before deviating this into another populist misanthropic rant, I’ll return to the record: Opposition Rising puts out probably the best track of theirs on this split (best compared to the rest of the songs on their Aftermathematics LP, which too rules). Formed from the intact remains of Mouth Sewn Shut, the band is essentially the next chapter in the Toxic Narcotic saga. While Mouth Sewn Shut (and Opposition Rising as well, for that matter) is known mostly for their blends of crust, hardcore, and reggae, this track is more of a hardcore track, but still retains the traditional M.S.S./ O.R. aura.
Even though I was not wowed by the two earlier tracking of these later-to-be excellent songs, there were okay, and the stellar tracks by Embrace the Kill and Opposition Rising makes this album worthwhile.
-Aunty Social
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