Reviews

This is one group of tough looking mother fuckers. With that said, I’m almost afraid to write a review because if I say the wrong thing there could be a knock on my door only to be opened to a fist aimed directly at my face. Just kidding…I’m sure they’re nice guys. Day Of Contempt are a five piece group of Australian rockers not at all unlike those who wrote the book on making eyeliner tough and manly, Eighteen Visions.  With that said, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see that James Hart himself even throws a little bit of guest vocals into the mix of music that is “The Will To Live.”
 
The vocals on this EP are love or hate. Basically if you don’t like this combination of vocalists, you will not like this band. There’s the melodic Benjamin Coyte whose generic style is a direct compliment of the deep throated growl that comes from bassist, Daniel Smith. It took me listening to the first song three or four times to decide if I liked it at all, and I’m pretty sure I do. It’s the only thing that sets this band apart from any    other melodic hardcore band.  I heard this band described somewhere as brutal, which they absolutely are not. They are however, musically engaging and instrumentally on point.
 
One of the most standout tracks on this EP is “Shattered Dreams and Broken Hearts,” which features James Hart of course.  The song starts out with a light piano solo, breaks out into guitars, guitars and more guitars and then sinks back into piano but with a strong vocal backing.  “Close My Eyes,” the final track out of six, is packed with excitement and emotional charge.
 
I anticipate that the next full length from Day of Contempt will be greater than or equal to this EP.  They’re a well polished group, but they need to take more risks and assume their own identity a little more rather than come across as a copy cat band. One thing that really touched me however, was that this record is dedicated to some friends of the band that passed away a few months ago. Their devotion to this friendship and to those three individuals is seen all throughout the album in words and in pictures.