Raised Fist "Sound of the Republic" (Epitaph)
By Taylor Green
Monday. May 22, 1:11 AM
Advanced metalcore that somehow feels empty.

Raised Fist are an enigma. On one hand, they're clearly a hardcore band at heart. The drumming and vocals scream “hardcore” and every song has the pissed off passion and energy trademark of the genre. On the other, Sound of the Republic is also melodic thrash/death in the vein of Soundtrack to Your Escape / Reroute to Remain In Flames.

The album starts with in-your-face thrashcore. While the vocals are really tough to digest at first, I took to Hagman's nonstop yell after a few listens, as it gives the music a certain character that metal doesn't have. The second track, "Perfectly Broken," could be straight off of an In Flames record were it not for the throaty screams of Hagman. And while it would seem strange for a hardcore band to have such melodic death influences in their sound, seeing producer Daniel Bergstrand's name on the stat sheet makes it pretty clear. In fact, traces of the other bands Bergstrand has produced are obvious once you recognize his name.

While the first few numbers sound pretty decent, Raised Fist run into trouble midway through the album. Like most hardcore bands, the middle songs begin to run together and fail to separate or differentiate. While black metal also deal with this same dilemma, the more involved riff structure allows bands to escape monotony. But seeing as Raised Fist are rooted in hardcore, the repetitive drumming and vocals don't hold up with the quick riffs and the album becomes incredibly boring. While the last two or three songs rebound from the monotony of the likes of "Hertz Island Landscapes" and "Back," I can't help but be underwhelmed by the final product. Though it’s a decent listen, Raised Fist's In Flames-meets-hardcore style falls in a void which will be distasteful to fans of either side.
www.raisedfist.com
www.epitaph.com

Taylor Green

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