Reviews

Is there an assembly line, somewhere in the confines of beautiful sunny Florida where bands like this are manufactured and sent out into the world to conquer various malls and the legions of screaming 15 year old girls that pack them in the name of a higher power?

I was pretty surprised to hear this record, the latest release from German powerhouse Lifeforce Records. When you look back at their catalog spanning the last 10 years or so, you recollect releases from bands like Caliban, Between the Buried and Me and Trivium and detect a very tangible pedigree of metal bands. Hand to Hand are definitely a few steps off that beaten trail; which seems very intentional, and could be very beneficial to a label like Lifeforce. They haven’t had a real “breakthrough act” that’s given this label the recognition they deserve here in The States. This is the record that will hopefully take them to those lofty heights of success. So for their embrace of diversity going a little more commercial, I applaud them. A label exists purely to put out good music, and be financially successful. That is what this label has done and hopefully they will reap the spoils of their labor.

As for the record itself; it’s a very decent, run of the mill record, produced to the max by a man (James Paul Wisner) that’s led the campaigns for bands like Underoath, Further Seems Forever and Dashboard Confessional in years past. There is nothing new and innovative in the recording style or the performance but they certainly execute with razor-sharp precision. The token alternating of wrenchingly high pitched vocals with attempts at heartfelt, angelic melodies is done just as every band before them (please see Hopesfall, Underoath et. Al) has done it. The song structures however are very mature and well thought out. With that said, if you enjoy bands of this ilk, as most of us do for at least a change of pace, you will certainly dig Hand to Hand. They are very a formidable band with an ear for incredible hooks that will suck you in, and breakdowns that will knock you out. I will say this; they execute this shtick a lot better and a lot more convincing than It Dies Today does it on “The Caitiff Choir”, their Trustkill Records debut. Everybody knew they were a brutal metal band, totally toning it down to try and move units.

“A Perfect Way to Say Goodbye” is convincing and honest, which goes a long way in the whole ‘scene’. They seem to genuinely love the music they play and that’s better than any pretender. Somehow, through all the trend-hopping and genre-blurring that goes on, I believe hardcore kids can always spot a phony and until a band like Pig Destroyer signs to Atlantic Records, get faux hawks and call in Linda Perry a.k.a “The Hit Doctor that lands bands like Rooney on The O.C.”; I’ll stand by my belief that integrity still exists in hardcore.

For Fans Of: Hopesfall, Underoath, Story of The Year, Poison the Well, Thrice.