December - "Praying, Hoping, Nothing" reviews
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Kerrang! - KKKK
A history lesson for fans of Hatebreed, Thrice et al. "Back before every black-haired heavily tattooed aggro hardcore/metal crossover band got tagged with the term "metalcore" there was a small contingent of bands who were combining the riff based pounding of metal with the purified aggression of hardcore to devastating effect. One of these bands was Nevada's December, and thankfully Earache has seen fit to reissue their debut album.
Recorded in 1998, Praying...shows the band's love for technical riffing, bludgeoning drums and monolithic breakdowns. Having been fully remastered, the production is a thundering bass led rumble, punctured with the ear-piercing screams of frontman Mark Moots.
Praying, Hoping, Nothing is an undiluted and violently savage example of the roots of the metalcore genre, and essential listening for all newcomers to that scene."
A history lesson for fans of Hatebreed, Thrice et al. "Back before every black-haired heavily tattooed aggro hardcore/metal crossover band got tagged with the term "metalcore" there was a small contingent of bands who were combining the riff based pounding of metal with the purified aggression of hardcore to devastating effect. One of these bands was Nevada's December, and thankfully Earache has seen fit to reissue their debut album.
Recorded in 1998, Praying...shows the band's love for technical riffing, bludgeoning drums and monolithic breakdowns. Having been fully remastered, the production is a thundering bass led rumble, punctured with the ear-piercing screams of frontman Mark Moots.
Praying, Hoping, Nothing is an undiluted and violently savage example of the roots of the metalcore genre, and essential listening for all newcomers to that scene."
Blunt magazine - 5/10
"Sadly the best thing about December's re-released debut CD is the three new bonus covers contained! December more than competently deliver white-knuckle blitz-core metal with all the trimmings. Cacophonic drums, trebled-out guitars that chop and change dramatically and the obligatory indecipherable bark for vocals - has there ever been a better description for that sytle than December's song "Mouthful of Sand". All in all it's solid and competent, and if this makes sense for a genre that thrives on being workmanlike, however, when December deliver Skunk Anansie's excellent "Selling Jesus" from about a decade ago, and they use their own style to do so, you can hear the potential they have. What was once a very solid rock song becomes a heavy rock work out. Likewise their interpretation of Death Angel's "Seemingly Endless Time" is great and Motorhead's "Ace of Spades" proves what a great song it will always be. Spend more time on the tunes than the 'tude and December could be great."
"Sadly the best thing about December's re-released debut CD is the three new bonus covers contained! December more than competently deliver white-knuckle blitz-core metal with all the trimmings. Cacophonic drums, trebled-out guitars that chop and change dramatically and the obligatory indecipherable bark for vocals - has there ever been a better description for that sytle than December's song "Mouthful of Sand". All in all it's solid and competent, and if this makes sense for a genre that thrives on being workmanlike, however, when December deliver Skunk Anansie's excellent "Selling Jesus" from about a decade ago, and they use their own style to do so, you can hear the potential they have. What was once a very solid rock song becomes a heavy rock work out. Likewise their interpretation of Death Angel's "Seemingly Endless Time" is great and Motorhead's "Ace of Spades" proves what a great song it will always be. Spend more time on the tunes than the 'tude and December could be great."
Primal Agony http://www.geocities.com/primalagony
December certainly made an impact with their 2002 sophomore effort The Lament Configuration on Earache Records. Not only did the talented Devin Townsend produce the album, but also the Reno (Nevada) four-piece act (Who are vocalist Mark Moots, guitarist Julian Peach, bassist Asa Dakin and drummer Jason Thomas) proved that their particular meld of grindcore and metalcore could push the limitations of both genres somewhere completely new.
The success of The Lament Configuration has obviously prompted fans to check out their back catalogue, which in turn brings us to Earache Records re-released of their 1998 debut Praying, Hoping, Nothing. Although originally released on Negative Attention Records, it was actually Society 1s Matt Zane who eventually signed them to his Inzane Records in order to help spread the name December further some three years ago. Zane released a remastered version of Praying, Hoping, Nothing with some additional tracks, with Earache Records finally seeing that the album gets its first official release outside of the U.S. This all sounds enticing to say the least, but unfortunately, that is as good as it gets in regards to the original album.
For a debut, Praying, Hoping, Nothing isnt a bad release as much as its unremarkable. December pound out ten tracks of stock standard brutality that varies little from track to track. Theres nothing of any real highlights worthy of a mention, making the album somewhat forgettable.
However, the additional three cover versions are a different story. Skunk Anansies Selling Jesus proves that Moots is able to utilize his clean vocal ability within his usual harsh screeching metalcore style, while Death Angels Seemingly Endless Time (Which originally appeared on Blackfish Records thrash tribute compilation Thrash Or Be Thrashed) and Motörheads Ace Of Spades are classics without question. The final track, the title of which is unknown, features some disturbing vocal effects before launching into a hilarious comedy routine (Could this be based on James Browns infamous tirades?) cantered around a band meeting.
Praying, Hoping, Nothing is nothing special by any means, but interesting for the final few tracks. This should be placed under For the die hard fans only! section of the rack.
For more information on December, check out - http://www.december1.com
December certainly made an impact with their 2002 sophomore effort The Lament Configuration on Earache Records. Not only did the talented Devin Townsend produce the album, but also the Reno (Nevada) four-piece act (Who are vocalist Mark Moots, guitarist Julian Peach, bassist Asa Dakin and drummer Jason Thomas) proved that their particular meld of grindcore and metalcore could push the limitations of both genres somewhere completely new.
The success of The Lament Configuration has obviously prompted fans to check out their back catalogue, which in turn brings us to Earache Records re-released of their 1998 debut Praying, Hoping, Nothing. Although originally released on Negative Attention Records, it was actually Society 1s Matt Zane who eventually signed them to his Inzane Records in order to help spread the name December further some three years ago. Zane released a remastered version of Praying, Hoping, Nothing with some additional tracks, with Earache Records finally seeing that the album gets its first official release outside of the U.S. This all sounds enticing to say the least, but unfortunately, that is as good as it gets in regards to the original album.
For a debut, Praying, Hoping, Nothing isnt a bad release as much as its unremarkable. December pound out ten tracks of stock standard brutality that varies little from track to track. Theres nothing of any real highlights worthy of a mention, making the album somewhat forgettable.
However, the additional three cover versions are a different story. Skunk Anansies Selling Jesus proves that Moots is able to utilize his clean vocal ability within his usual harsh screeching metalcore style, while Death Angels Seemingly Endless Time (Which originally appeared on Blackfish Records thrash tribute compilation Thrash Or Be Thrashed) and Motörheads Ace Of Spades are classics without question. The final track, the title of which is unknown, features some disturbing vocal effects before launching into a hilarious comedy routine (Could this be based on James Browns infamous tirades?) cantered around a band meeting.
Praying, Hoping, Nothing is nothing special by any means, but interesting for the final few tracks. This should be placed under For the die hard fans only! section of the rack.
For more information on December, check out - http://www.december1.com
dill_the_devil
OneMetal.com Music Editor
The Ultimate Metal review of December's debut re-issue is online now - suffice it to say that I'm rather more of a fan of the group than the last two reviewers in this thread!
im not really a massive december fan...i own the lament configuration but to be honest i think there's a lot of filler material on there. I first heard them on a sampler, the song 'waiting for rain', and at the time it sounded pretty haevy /grindy. I was a bit dissapointed with the album though....its more hardcore/metalcore than grind. Plus the vocals really piss me off i dont know why. Speaking of which...does anyone else find that the vocals on certain albums impare their enjoyment of the record in question? Off the top of my head i can think of two more
Zyklon - Aeon
Mithras- worlds beyond the veil
Zyklon - Aeon
Mithras- worlds beyond the veil
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