Reviews

Connecticut rules on this six song split.  Hard, fast, energetic, and fun anthems come packaged in the sweetest digipack I have seen since, well, ever.  It’s really a great little package put together by Monsters In Disguise.  Be excited and if you live in Connecticut, be proud of your scene that has spawned two new additions to a great state legacy.
 
With Honor wins my heart (and the split) with their amazingly tight and varied addition to the hardcore canon.  The music is polished by heavy, full of great sounds and great riffs ala Comeback Kid.  Heartfelt vocals halfway between strained talking and screaming mix with gang shout-alongs all in the same song, the same verse, with the smoothest of transitions.  Multiple vocal tracks always sound great, and with such a tight band pounding out unique, driving hardcore, it is untouchable. The first track, the outstanding Gun For Hire, even throws melody into the vocal mix with nothing but good results.  For fans of: eclectic and respectful hardcore dancing, tight black shirts, and positive change.
 
The Distance play a chunky old school hardcore with heart style. The music sticks to a fairly conventional Terror style revival sound, but the lyrics keep The Distance from getting left behind in the bogs of mediocrity.  The bullish charge of The Distance’s music is not marked by a blind adherence to the past; rather they have borrowed a sound that touched them and ridden it for all its worth.  For fans of: circle pits, unironic mesh hats with band pins, and hardcore pride.
 
The new school of hardcore is being shaped by bands like these who inject palpable energy into their songs and use it to create new and vital music.  With Honor and The Distance each offer different takes on today’s hardcore, but what is so great is that they still remain inextricably linked by lineage, by community, and now by this stellar release.  For fans of: good music, new bands, amazing packaging.