2 out of 5

Label: Acerbic Noise Development

Producer: Adam Vincent

It just never quite gets there.  Moments of V&R hit like a less viking Mastodon, or a more contemplative Keelhaul, and yet the group never really capitalizes quite enough on either side of the fence (technical metal, technical punk) to induce notable listening joy.  There are moments of unbelievable awesomeness (there’s this intense drum pummeling in ‘Killcomplete’) that are buffered by more generic lead-in bits or follow-ups that it’s hard to get on board.

There are a lot of things in the band’s favor.  Many, many hardcore groups mine the cynical inkwell for lyrical inspiration, and singer Shane Gillis is no exception, but his words lean more into poetic and speculative and storytelling, making it a nice upgrade from the grunts of of singers that, when deciphered, don’t offer much.  This is why the group actually benefits when they’re functioning more in punk / singy mode as opposed to the hardcore moments, the thoughts expressed adding an extra dimension to the fast-paced riffs and drum-wrangling.  When the group does drop into the double kickdrum, growly riffy thing, it gets a little too generic sounding – although they absolutely have the chops to pull it off, there’s nothing about those aspects to differentiate it from the many similar sounding bands.  Unfortunately, dispelling my earlier compliment, when it shifts more into the technical punk style, it seems tough for the three-piece to keep the technical side of things alive, like they’re slowing down a bit to rock out the complicated stuff, and so the energy just doesn’t sink in.  Part of this might have something to do with the production, which generally leaves both the high and low end mixed seemingly even, so only those intense rushes where everyone is focused on shitting out their musical bests are capable of blasting off the speakers.

This is one of those albums that probably rocks live, but on disc it’s hard-pressed to make an indent.  Thankfully, the talent is apparent, so the desire to hear more is there… but, uh, maybe I’m reviewing a 2006 album in 2013.  So.