| Crushing
guitar riffs, pounding drums, unrelenting thrashy bass, and brutal nihilistic
vocals--this is what to expect on TotalWar by Florida hardcore
band TimeScapeZero. The album was originally written in 1995, recorded in
1996 and released by X-Ray Records the following year. But it sounds as
fresh as if it were released this year. Nothing but good, old-fashioned,
uncompromised hardcore. |
There
are hints of 1980s cross-over icons such as the Cro-Mags and Suicidal Tendencies,
but TotalWar’s sound is largely authentic TimeScapeZero.
The cdkicks off with a cryptic, British-accented monologue: “We came
to wreck everything and ruin your life. God sent us. ” Pretty eerie
primer for what follows. The first track, “All Roads Lead To Heaven”
is pure, thrash-heavy madness. The lead and bass guitars are crisp and choppy.
Drummer Kyle Miller belts out a hard 2/4 drum beat that is the song’s
backbone. And Adel 156’s scornful vocals hits listeners’ eardrums
with a jackhammer delivery full of angst. A crunchy, staccato metal-riff
starts off the next track, “Suicide Mission”. Masterfully done
hardcore. The musical arrangement with its meaty guitars and stiff and steady
drum-work tighten like a noose around haunting, desperate vocals. “Slit
wrists, bloody hands/Cold bathtub to be my grave.” The song is a suicide
note put to music.
TotalWar rages on for another five songs. “Hammurabi’s
Code” is a clear message TimeScapeZero will “eye for eye, stand
and fight” with any hardcore band that steps foot on their turf. It
is a big song with a big, metallic opening riff that screams into blistering-tempoed
hardcore/punk/thrash manifesto of aggression. The guitars quickly become
manic. The hard-chargibg drums do not quit. And the vocals’ intensity,
surprisingly, has been kicked up a few notches. The musical assault comes
to an end with machine-gun, rapid guitars, bruising drumming and explosive
vocals on the aptly named “Might Is Right.” Unfortunately, TimeScapeZero
has chosen to stop fighting. Not much has been heard of them since TotalWar,
but fans can still buy this 10-track set of angst to remind them of what
true hardcore is and everything that it could be.
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