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Screw Houston, Start Screaming

When Trumpets Fade

Written by: PP on 29/11/2011 05:40:24

Occasionally it is easy to accurately guess the household names that have influenced a band's record. In the case of Screw Houston, Start Screaming, who originate from Utrecht, Holland, the two bands that immediately ring a bell are Cancer Bats and early Gallows, names which I subsequently discovered on their list of influences as well when researching their new album "When Trumpets Fade".

It's unclear what the screw houston part of their name suggests, but the start screaming part is clear: this is a band that goes for a ferocious sound that's best described by words like relentless, raw, grating, et cetera. But just like their major influences in Cancer Bats, there's a heavy dosage of groove and jagged edges to their guitar work, and a layer of melody drawing the band towards melodic hardcore ever so slightly. The vocals offer no remorse for the faint-hearted as is to be expected, instead concentrating on a razor-sharp scream of the kind that's difficult to become friends with on first listen in a live environment. It's a double-edged sword: they have plenty of grit and bring some of the songs home on sheer will power, but as "When Trumpets Fade" suggests, the band can be much better when they add that extra layer of vocal and guitar melody into the mix, much like Gallows do. In fact, the song shares an awkwardly similar guitar groove as the Gallows classic "In The Belly Of The Shark", but it's that combination of hardcore fury and a tiny bit of roughened melody that makes it a winner.

Overall, "When Trumpets Fade" exhibits a 'little brother' vibe. It's clearly very similar to Cancer Bats, Gallows, and even The Ghost Of A Thousand in some passages, but it's also inferior, albeit not by a significant margin. Still, comparisons to much more successful bands might not be fair, after all, this is a solid piece of groovy, relentless hardcore that fans of the bands mentioned should eat up without a gag effect.

Download: When Trumpets Fade, Struggles In The Light
For the fans of: Cancer Bats, Gallows, The Ghost Of A Thousand
Listen: Soundcloud

Release date 07.10.2011
5 Feet Under Records

When Trumpets Fade 2011 by SHSS