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October 12, 2008 |
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01. Between The Lines
02. Part Of Perfection
03. One And The Same
04. Raise Your Voice
05. Completed
06. Behind In Silence
07. Uneen Oppression
08. At The End Of The Day
09. Dead Or Confused
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Well, I must say that I was a little surprised by this offering from Sweden's BY NIGHT, entitled "Burn The Flags". Over the last little while, I have become a big fan of Lifeforce Records and their releases, however, I cannot say the same about this disc.
The band, Adrian Westin - vocals, Andre Gonzales - guitar, Simon Wien - guitar, Henrik Persson - bass, Per Qvarnström - drums, formed in 1999 and first recorded two demos - "By Night"(2000) and "Derelict" (2001). After that, they recorded "Lamentations" (2002), which later appeared remastered on the Lifeforce-split CD with CIPHER SYSTEM. So, the band have been around for a while and they do have some recording experience behind them, which is why "Burn The Flags" is a bit of a mystery to me.
This is your typical (almost stereotypical) aggressive hardcore / metalcore disc that has a rather cheesy, homemade looking cover, and sub par production (where's the bass?). This is not what I expected from a burgeoning label like Lifeforce. The vocals are more like screams, with very little sense of melody, and the playing is just very, very standard. I just can't find anything here that makes this band stand out. In fact, there are a lot of other bands (Lifeforce artists included) that have released aggressive products that are far better than "Burn The Flags".
The album is quite short, clocking in at just 36 minutes, but believe me, that is long enough for the listener. The album is hard and fast, and assaults you, never letting up for a moment. After being pummeled for 36 minutes, you are relieved when it's over. Yes, that is generally what this genre entails, however, this is not the 'good' pummeling. Lyrically, the band has some self-empowering themes, with the likes of "Raise Your Voice" and "Unseen Oppression", though the lyrics fall in the 'average' category as well. They're not bad, but there is nothing special about them either. They are just kinda 'there', as it is with most everything about this album. It's just kinda 'there'.
So, at the end of the day, BY NIGHT's "Burn The Flags" is really just a very average metalcore offering. We have seen and heard this type of album done much better in the past. And really, with the amount of great albums being released these days, does 'average' really cut it? I didn't think so.
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