Maroon Endorsed by Hate
Abacus Recordings February 8th, 2005
By Jason Jordan
Vegan and straightedge?! Sounds like a recipe for no fun but, personal convictions aside, Maroon have decidedly snuck under the Abacus Recordings door. The aforementioned label definitely has a fair share of young talent residing comfortably under its banner, but Endorsed by Hate isnt going to win anyone over with its less-than-stunning take on a hardcore formula thats already been run into the ground.
Comical is the gunshot sound that permeates The Worlds Havoc and Endorsed by Hate. I guess they like gunshots. At any rate, Catharsis is a rather banal introduction. The Worlds Havoc chimes in after the blast, and is fairly enjoyable hardcore. The truth is: its not going to break you to listen to Maroon; however, there are quite a few groups outperforming the Germans. Watch It All Come Down begins more slowly than other songs on the release, and the overall feeling I glean from Endorsed by Hate is that hxc in a slower vein is not necessarily a negative thing. Without a Face, though, kick starts the pace and the band is up and running again. The former is much more melodic than its predecessors, which perhaps makes it more captivating. I prefer the riffage in Chosen Fate to almost anything else on the record and when the china cymbal spills forth its purely blissful. The other myriad opuses dont contain any elements that havent been mentioned previously.
Honestly, I can only imagine the band traversing the upper echelons from here, but admittedly that said pilgrimage probably wouldnt take place for a lengthy amount of time. Maroon can continue practicing erstwhile their labelmates such as Heaven Shall Burn, Narcissus, and fellow Germans Caliban claim the honorable prizes. Endorsed by Hate shouldnt garner hatred, but the aforementioned wont show up on any year-end lists I bet.
7/10
Official Maroon website
Official Abacus Recordings website
Abacus Recordings February 8th, 2005
By Jason Jordan
Vegan and straightedge?! Sounds like a recipe for no fun but, personal convictions aside, Maroon have decidedly snuck under the Abacus Recordings door. The aforementioned label definitely has a fair share of young talent residing comfortably under its banner, but Endorsed by Hate isnt going to win anyone over with its less-than-stunning take on a hardcore formula thats already been run into the ground.
Comical is the gunshot sound that permeates The Worlds Havoc and Endorsed by Hate. I guess they like gunshots. At any rate, Catharsis is a rather banal introduction. The Worlds Havoc chimes in after the blast, and is fairly enjoyable hardcore. The truth is: its not going to break you to listen to Maroon; however, there are quite a few groups outperforming the Germans. Watch It All Come Down begins more slowly than other songs on the release, and the overall feeling I glean from Endorsed by Hate is that hxc in a slower vein is not necessarily a negative thing. Without a Face, though, kick starts the pace and the band is up and running again. The former is much more melodic than its predecessors, which perhaps makes it more captivating. I prefer the riffage in Chosen Fate to almost anything else on the record and when the china cymbal spills forth its purely blissful. The other myriad opuses dont contain any elements that havent been mentioned previously.
Honestly, I can only imagine the band traversing the upper echelons from here, but admittedly that said pilgrimage probably wouldnt take place for a lengthy amount of time. Maroon can continue practicing erstwhile their labelmates such as Heaven Shall Burn, Narcissus, and fellow Germans Caliban claim the honorable prizes. Endorsed by Hate shouldnt garner hatred, but the aforementioned wont show up on any year-end lists I bet.
7/10
Official Maroon website
Official Abacus Recordings website
