Man, I hate to ever say that one band or album sounds exactly like another. . . but wow, I can't not think about Training For Utopia's Plastic. . . when I listen to this. Scratchy, abrasive, dissonant hardcore with high pitched, (although not black-ish like Zao) desperate vocals is the neat one-sentence description. Like TFU, the drums never quite settle into a "normal" rhythm and occasionally even tweak the time signature, which furthers the generally unsettling feel about it.
The two points at which Anguish deviates significantly from TFU are 1) the old-school song near the end, which I have to say really feels good to have a song that makes a little more sense musically after listening to 8 tracks of disharmony, and 2) these guys are far more Christ-oriented in their lyrics.
So it's paragraph three before I get to whether it's good or not. Yeah, it's good. I like this album a lot. I really flipped when I first heard TFU, though, because it was something new and fresh. So while this probably does come close as far as quality, it's going to lag some as far as enjoyment simply by virtue of its clearly not being the original, hence the lack of genuine excitement in this review. Still, I'm happy that I've (finally) added it to my collection, and it'll get its share of play time in the changer.
8/10
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #79Reviewed by David BixlerAt some of the recent festivals, a certain band had caused a bit of a stir. Their shows have been described as intense, the players as good musicians, and the music as simply brutal. And, after hearing Wanting . . . Waiting, I believe it. This CD opens up with Jon Edwards passionately screaming "Sound the trumpet / Prepare for battle / Your helpless struggle with self-righteous sin fades,"…Dead Zine 1999Reviewed by SFhxcSFI love this cd. This guy has really high screamy vocals really good stuff. One word of caution, the recording volume on this cd was really really high, more so than all my other cds, it's very noticeable when you switch between this cd and another cd recorded at a "normal" volume. If you're feeling very much like an exorcist listen to track 2! It's not titled nor are there lyrics, but you can…Dead Zine 1999Reviewed by CrusaderThis release by Bettie Rocket Records is about the heaviest thing I think you will find on the label, which mostly consists of punk and ska bands. It's along the lines of what I'd call semi-"chaotic" metal influenced hardcore. Musically, it is quite catchy sometimes and I can get into it pretty good. Not really anything earth shattering though, I find that bands in this style usually seem to be…Dead Zine 1999Reviewed by dEaDsMilETo please the new school hardcore fan for sure. With these 11 tracks they show off a unique sounding blend of the usual west coast hardcore, and more chaotic sounding messes. The songs remind me of the chaos of Training For Utopia occasionally. In many songs, the guitars remind me of the unique sound Eso-Charis had throughout their debut album. The chaos meets order kinda thing, ya know? The lead…Similar sounding releases
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