Hardcore music may be the most readily available method of communicating anger and disgust at society (or any number of items) and Codeseven has quite efficiently tapped into that. However, as this album and many current hardcore albums demonstrate, anger often isn't enough to fully sustain an album all the way through. One of the things Codeseven does well, though, is include clean, morose vocals alongside the prerequisite shouted vocals. In certain moments, this approach puts them completely outside day-to-day, generic hardcore and grabs my attention like no one's business. Unfortunately they don't quite put enough emphasis on this. Also worthy of notice is the guitar textures as differing and nicely thought-out approaches keep the album from being stagnant. Hopefully Codeseven will continue making an effort to fully stand above the hardcore pack. If nothing else, this CD is worth hearing for the "Boys of Summer" cover.

Review by John Chedsey

Review date: 07/1998

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