Outcry Collective

Articles

Written by: PP on 30/07/2009 22:02:09

British hardcore based rock'n'roll has seen a bit of a resurgence in the last two years with good or excellent releases from both Gallows and The Ghost Of A Thousand (review soon) in the goodie bag. Recent Visible Noise signees Outcry Collective are newcomers to the scene, having only released one EP prior to their debut album "Articles", which is your meal of the day today on the review plate. They've already garnered a decent amount of hype from the British media (Metal Hammer, Zane Lowe, XFM etc) with their EP and their live shows where they are supposed to be as ferocious as Gallows and as feel-good energetic as Fucked Up, leading Kerrang to state "There ain't no party like an Outcry party". Whether or not that holds true, I won't know before seeing them live, so lets just focus on the record in question, shall we?

Basically, Outcry Collective play a strange mix of Every Time I Die styled southern groove and the fierce in-your-face hardcore of The Ghost Of A Thousand, with a small pinch of Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster present in the sound as well. If these bands say nothing to you (and they should), then just think of these guys as a combo of metal, hardcore and groove-heavy rock 'n' roll with a distinct British attitude also found in fellow countrymen Gallows. There's a vocalist whose scream-based yell comes from the heart by the sounds of it, the songs are generally very guitar driven, and they take you on "a rollercoaster party" through a variety of styles found on the record according to the band itself. "A Great Day For The Crows", for instance, is a straight forward rock track that even reminds me a bit of The Answer if we discount for the piercing yells of the vocalist, but if we compare it to the dissonance filled hardcore piece "Out Of My System", it feels like the band is playing two different genres. However, somehow the band are able to continuously keep the 'Outcry' sound to the songs despite exploring a number of different sounds in the process. Thumbs up for that.

My biggest and only beef with the album is the lack of standout tracks. It'd be pointless to argue whether or not these songs are decent, because they all are, but what I'm missing is one, two, or three bombastic tracks that act as the flagship(s) of the album. Right now, the whole album strolls by in one long guitar groove without making that big of an impression on me. I don't mind listening to the record as such for that reason, it just fails to provoke any sort of emotional or rational response. Had there been just a couple of tracks which did that, we could very well be on the higher ratings.

7

Download: Out Of My System, A Great Day For The Crows, Prepare Yourself For The News
For the fans of: The Ghost Of A Thousand, Every Time I Die, Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster
Listen: Myspace

Release date 27.07.2009
Visible Noise

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