Random Hand

Seething Is Believing

Written by: PP on 27/04/2011 20:24:52

Some of you may already be acquainted with British ska-metallers Random Hand from their 2009 sophomore album "Inhale/Exhale", which placed them on the musical map at least in Great Britain. If not, don't worry, but you should be excited nonetheless, because the English have always been excellent producing quality ska/reggae music in its various forms. Capdown, Howard's Alias, The Specials, Madness, Sonic Boom Six, Adequate Seven, spunge, NoComply, Farse...aaaaand I'll just stop there before the list becomes too long.

"Seething Is Believing" is the newest album from these boys, and it's a considerable improvement on "Inhale/Exhale". The sound itself has largely stayed intact, essentially cloning the prog-ska sound of Catch 22's "Permanent Revolution" and RX Bandits' "...And The Battle Begun" together in a much heavier and more metallic way, but it's in the songwriting department where the band have jumped forward big time. "Three From Six", "Tales Of Intervention", "Bones" and "Start The Fans" all stand out immediately, fueled by excellent horn department which carries each song from being a metallic Strung Out-inspired piece far into the realm of skacore. There are lots of wooah-wooahs in the vocals, but also screaming and yelling which normally belongs in hardcore. The vast majority of the time, however, their clean vocalist is a dead ringer for the Catch 22 / RX Bandit vocalists (who sound incredibly alike), mastering the art of ska-singing with fast tempo changes in his vocals to almost perfection. His lyrics are openly sociopolitical, criticizing the state of affairs in Britain almost as fiercely as Frank Carter in Gallows' "Grey Britain" a couple of years back, which gives a nice touch to the record as opposed to the more personal viewpoint of the previous record.

What more is there to say about "Seething Is Believing"? It's a good skacore album, and if you've ever wondered whether ska and metal could mix well together without the reggae-element (see: Skindred), here's some definite proof that it certainly can. All of this is owed to the superb vocals and the great horns section, which on this album is among the best I've heard on a ska record in the last couple of years.

Download: Tales Of Intervention, Not A Number, Three From Six, Henchmen
For the fans of: Catch 22, RX Bandits, Capdown, Adequate Seven
Listen: Myspace

Release date 21.03.2011
Bomber Music Our Records

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