With Scissors/Chickenhawk/I Breathe Spears - Split EP
MilliePeed Records - 020 - Available now
The Black Sails
Caught unawares by my first few casual listens I got the bands names confused; you see the running order on the CD is completely different to the naming on the front. First up we had Chickenhawk. Although a UK band, their influences seem to be drawn from the other side of the pond, as I definitely feel a bit of Unsane (maybe its just the bass sound...), but the band cite Mike Patton (who doesn't?), The Melvins and Dream Theater as their influences, and in the faster sections I can say that I certainly agree with the first two, not sure where the Dream Theater fits in though. The production of their two songs on this recording withstanding, the tracks aren't very special, and it all seems amateurish and ill thought-out. With only two tracks dedicated to the band, there isn't enough space on this 11-tracker to judge them properly, and - combined with the promise of I Breathe Spears getting the whole shindig started immediately afterwards the CD could pretty much do without them.
The production for I Breathe Spears is very poor, and if this lot could get into a studio with enough money (or go to wherever earthtone9 recorded their first one for only £500), then you may have a band willing to topple the American hold on the metalcore scene, and bringing in some doom for good measure. 'Get Packing' is an immediate call to arms and beats its way at breakneck speed through two and a half minutes of your time, and with sections seeming to reference bands across the gulf of sounds from Cadaver Inc. (are they just Cadaver again now?) to The Hope Conspiracy, it has got a lot going for it. 'Heads In The Sand' continues in pretty much the same fashion, all buzz-saw guitars and a vocalist who I believe may be suffering from some sort of tonsillitis, and there is actually a solo in there! That is a strange occurrence in any metalcore song, but it doesn't go on for long; I guess a bonus for the different types of people its trying to reach. The let down is the end of the song, with what could be interpreted as a chorus, being one of those moments in music where you actually feel like if you were in the band you'd go beetroot red and run off stage. It just strikes a certain nerve.
Two tracks in the same vein later, and we run into Brighton's own With Scissors. You'd not for one second believe that one of them is a member of 80's Matchbox B-Line Disaster. Definitely a hardcore band, they call upon the usual Bad Brains reference, but include some passing sections that Iggy & The Stooges would be proud of (or maybe rather The Icarus Line). They are first and foremost a phenomenal live band (you can tell as none of the tracks on here exceed the two minute mark), but I have yet to see them transfer this to plastic. There are some very bright minutes, but I just wish that - like every other band on here they would up the production to an almost respectable level. The only downside to their songs it the aforesaid production; it lets down the clean vocals sections as the overdriven guitars behind them provide an extreme fuzz makeover. Beg, borrow or steal to see this band. The future for British music, if they don't become huge then I will go to every gig myself and drag everyone I know to improve their status.
The With Scissors section alone is worth the full payment required for this purchase and I Breathe Spears is a bonus, but the first two tracks are a let down.
Chickenhawk: 5/10
I Breathe Spears: 7/10
With Scissors: 9/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Official Chickenhawk website
Official I Breathe Spears website
Official With Scissors website
Official MilliePeed Records website
MilliePeed Records - 020 - Available now
The Black Sails
Caught unawares by my first few casual listens I got the bands names confused; you see the running order on the CD is completely different to the naming on the front. First up we had Chickenhawk. Although a UK band, their influences seem to be drawn from the other side of the pond, as I definitely feel a bit of Unsane (maybe its just the bass sound...), but the band cite Mike Patton (who doesn't?), The Melvins and Dream Theater as their influences, and in the faster sections I can say that I certainly agree with the first two, not sure where the Dream Theater fits in though. The production of their two songs on this recording withstanding, the tracks aren't very special, and it all seems amateurish and ill thought-out. With only two tracks dedicated to the band, there isn't enough space on this 11-tracker to judge them properly, and - combined with the promise of I Breathe Spears getting the whole shindig started immediately afterwards the CD could pretty much do without them.
The production for I Breathe Spears is very poor, and if this lot could get into a studio with enough money (or go to wherever earthtone9 recorded their first one for only £500), then you may have a band willing to topple the American hold on the metalcore scene, and bringing in some doom for good measure. 'Get Packing' is an immediate call to arms and beats its way at breakneck speed through two and a half minutes of your time, and with sections seeming to reference bands across the gulf of sounds from Cadaver Inc. (are they just Cadaver again now?) to The Hope Conspiracy, it has got a lot going for it. 'Heads In The Sand' continues in pretty much the same fashion, all buzz-saw guitars and a vocalist who I believe may be suffering from some sort of tonsillitis, and there is actually a solo in there! That is a strange occurrence in any metalcore song, but it doesn't go on for long; I guess a bonus for the different types of people its trying to reach. The let down is the end of the song, with what could be interpreted as a chorus, being one of those moments in music where you actually feel like if you were in the band you'd go beetroot red and run off stage. It just strikes a certain nerve.
Two tracks in the same vein later, and we run into Brighton's own With Scissors. You'd not for one second believe that one of them is a member of 80's Matchbox B-Line Disaster. Definitely a hardcore band, they call upon the usual Bad Brains reference, but include some passing sections that Iggy & The Stooges would be proud of (or maybe rather The Icarus Line). They are first and foremost a phenomenal live band (you can tell as none of the tracks on here exceed the two minute mark), but I have yet to see them transfer this to plastic. There are some very bright minutes, but I just wish that - like every other band on here they would up the production to an almost respectable level. The only downside to their songs it the aforesaid production; it lets down the clean vocals sections as the overdriven guitars behind them provide an extreme fuzz makeover. Beg, borrow or steal to see this band. The future for British music, if they don't become huge then I will go to every gig myself and drag everyone I know to improve their status.
The With Scissors section alone is worth the full payment required for this purchase and I Breathe Spears is a bonus, but the first two tracks are a let down.
Chickenhawk: 5/10
I Breathe Spears: 7/10
With Scissors: 9/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Official Chickenhawk website
Official I Breathe Spears website
Official With Scissors website
Official MilliePeed Records website
