Takehold Records has put together an entertaining compilation record; diverse in sound and fury. Starting with some great new metal/hardcore bands and then moving on to some college alternative sounds, and then back and forth until you've covered the CD's musical sweep at least twice over.
Packaged in a tri-fold cardboard sleeve with dark dancing/walking silhouettes the CD is distinctive outside and inside. Launching off with a six and a half minute song called "Innocence Stolen" by Underoath, the record, and the label, take a hardcore/metal stand and branch out from there. Underoath has put this opus on their impressive Takehold Records EP as well. Fools Rush In... also uses some better known and lesser-known bands not signed to Takehold. The second cut is from The Blamed: "Dissonance." More hardcore from Sleeping By The Riverside, another Takehold band, comes after. The CD changes gears at cut four with Twothirtyeight ushering in a couple of radio alternative cuts; the band Further Seems Forever following. But the alternative is soon pushed aside, and pushed hard by Chalice, a truly sharp and talented brutal metal band.
The pace continues through alternative..., death metal..., heavy metal. Even though the styles are all over the place, it isn't that distracting. The CD still has a flow and song quality that maintains the listener’s intrigue. Stand outs include the emo of Bagwell, the Weezer-like alternative sound of Through the Eyes of Katelyn, and Recess Theory. There is crushing metal from Few Left Standing that puts me in mind of Believer, Eyes are Bleeding, and Fable. There are mediocre songs from each genre also, but nothing that made me push the "next track" button, although I was close during the last song. A messy garage metal song by Shinji Ikari called "A Brief Goodbye" is anything but, clocking in at nearly seven minutes.
Fools Rush In... and Takehold Records are best when presenting a hardcore or metal band's music. Some of the label's finds could truly make some remarkable recordings. Time will tell.
3 tocks
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #79Reviewed by Doug Van PeltTakeHold Records has now fully arrived. Their roster of artists and their list of friends who are glad to work with them is long and loaded. Both types of bands are represented here - from label standouts like Underoath and TwoThirtyEight to friends like The Blamed and Stairwell. This 17-song disc runs the gamut from intense hardcore you've gotta hear (like Sleeping By The Riverside), to some…
