Raised Fist - Sound ofthe Republic

Fri 7th Apr, 2006 in Music Reviews

Sound of the Republic starts with a strong riff progression that hypes the listener up for a head banging, neck breaking hammering. When Alexander Hagman comes in with the vocals, you are treated to a steady onslaught of monotonous yelling with no attempt to head into a harmony – whether it be a tune or an alternate scream.

It makes for very tedious listening as far as vocals go – but as mentioned previously the riff progressions are catchy and hold the correct ingredients to slot nicely into the hardcore scene. These days it seems more of the norm than an alternative. Hertz Island Escapades is littered with some ecstatic punk rock drumming then progresses into the called for double kick essential as a complimentary of a screamed vocal.

Drawing away from the listening content, the lyrics themselves ring distinctly of the ‘Bush’ bashing we have come to expect from most opinionated bands, with bellows of ‘Acting like we didn’t see this coming. Ignoring all the bombings and the war with the kings who’s pulling the strings. He’s on top of the food chain but without the wings’ from the first track You Ignore Them All. It’s all been said before but you can’t help but feeling that these boys from Sweden may have a different spin on things.

Cover art on this one is a little on the verge of… what the hell is that? It grabs your attention if nothing else, but unfortunately I believe it’s for the wrong reason. It’s well executed and if you flick to the back of the inside CD slip and it will become apparent what the graphic actually is.

Overall – this album would not be my pick of best buys for the ever increasing scene that is hardcore, however long time fans of the ever changing line-up quintet will be satisfied with this new effort and will live a little longer in their hearts.