Reviews

When I think Czech Republic, I don't exactly think of music. I guess I think of the fallen Soviet Union. That's the problem with the word association game though, it rules out a lot of things. Despite the fact that the lyrics aren't in English, there's a lot to get out of this split. Let's analyze this one half at a time, starting with Lewisit.

I threw the Lewisit half of the split on first. Now I've got a pretty built up background with screamo and indie rock, and these four songs seemed to take the two styles and combine them like a couple of freight trains playing chicken, with neither train backing down. We'll bounce back and forth from things that may remind you of Amanda Woodward, Daitro, or Envy to things that will bring to the surface thoughts of bands like Sounds Like Violence or guitar riffs that remind you of just about any mid/late ‘90s indie rock band. Though the amount of information provided with this release was pretty slim, the music speaks for itself. Lewisit means business; give them some recording money and a solid studio and see what they come up with - I guarantee you it'll be a cult classic akin to Envy's All The Footprints You Have Ever Left...

Onto the H.A.T.E! half of the split now; it's one track clocking in at a little over twenty minutes long. H.A.T.E! is a screamo band with experimental tendencies. They've seemingly injected the fierce and urgent emotion of screamo into a dark, almost haunting melody that is all strung together by a rhythm section that may as well be the battle drums calling troops to war. I have to be honest, I didn't enjoy this half of the split as much as the Lewisit side, but it's got a lot of promise. I'd really love to hear more from both of these bands, I think they've got a lot to offer any diehard screamo fan.