Nations Afire

Violence EP

Written by: PP on 03/09/2018 22:19:15

On paper, Nations Afire has a lot of promise. Their lineup reads current and former members of bands like Ignite, Rise Against, Great Collapse, and Death By Stereo, so together they should be able to produce a hell of a political punk album, at least in theory. But now we've been waiting for a breakthrough record for three releases without getting there, so I'm beginning to doubt whether this group of artists together are able to deliver the great album that feels like it's just one release around the corner after each record they put out.

The problem is, "Violence" EP is yet another example of mediocrity, where it feels like the band are perfectly okay at merely sounding like a derivative and generic version of their main bands. Stylistically, it's a straight cocktail of the first three bands, just without any of the passion, which leaves the soundscape lackluster. It's one of those punk records which doesn't have anything particularly wrong with it, especially if you give it a few extra listens to let it grow on you, but the songs never improve from their initial anonymity to anything better than just decent. The polished production doesn't capture any hints of passion that might otherwise be there, so the record ends up sounding like an Ignite or a Rise Against b-side at best.

There are a couple of melodies like the title track, or the upbeat chorus hook of "Sifting Through Ash" that stand out, but not enough to separate the band from the saturated mass of other bands doing their own imitation of Rise Against. It's clean, straight-forward punk with polished production, but lacks killer hooks and memorable sing-alongs. It's passable, but not exactly something you'll remember a few weeks down the line.

6

Download: Violence, Sifting Through Ash
For the fans of: Ignite, (old) AFI, Rise Against, Millencolin
Listen: Facebook

Release date 06.04.2018
Redfield Records

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