Reviewed by Graeme Crawford

To fully understand this second release from South Carolina's Hundredth, it is important to be aware of the context in which it was created. While the band was out on tour, seven of their close friends died over a six month period, from instances such as suicide, murder and a car accident. As a result, the band have made an album that is deeply personal and cathartic for them. Unfortunately, this makes the album difficult to listen to. You can sense a lot of pain, confusion and anger in the songs as they struggle to understand all the circumstances. However, it appears that there understandable confusion has detracted from the song structures. A lot of this album seems disjointed, with the instruments clashing instead of cooperating. The vocals are often on a different timing and rhythm from the rest of the songs. The drums are quite one-dimensional, kind of just hit the snare as hard and often as you can, and are also too high in the mix. First track proper "Weathered Town" is quite good as a slab of uncompromising hardcore, and the two parts of "Monumental" have the potential to be live favourites. However "Live Today" is a prime example of the problems listed above, as is "I Hold The Key", while their cover of the Nine Inch Nails classic "Hurt" is truly terrible. Under the circumstances, this is an album which the band probably needed to make for their own sakes, but there are many other releases in the genre more deserving of your time and money.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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