Long Line at the Breakdown Buffet

I have not been motivated to write lately and almost all I've been listening to for the past four or five days has been Guided By Voices, who I just recently "got," figuratively speaking. I've been a little busy, too. Oh well. To get the gears turning again, I'm going to dig out another high school favorite. This is from my hardcore phase, that lasted the better part of two and a half years, roughly speaking.

File this under "ear candy"

With Honor was a hardcore band. Around 2004, when they released Heart Means Everything, their stylistic influences had converged into an gratuitously catchy union of American-by-way-of-Gothenberg metalcore and Youth Crew hardcore, a la Champion. How many gang-shouts is too many? You'll find yourself wondering that.

(EDIT -- this hasn't been sitting well with me. I don't mean to suggest that With Honor circa 2004 deals in triumphant Nordic riffs that would seem to belie their fairly generic posi lyrical content but rather the phrasing and rhythmic emphasis is distinctly mid-2000s metalcore -- consonant, thrashy, etc. You know. You know.)


With lyrical themes so overused they border on parody -- changing your life, standing by your friends, doing your best, etc. -- and what sounds like possibly the cheesiest potential fusion of styles (and make no mistake, this album is cheeseball) imaginable, Heart Means Everything sounds like garbage on paper. It also has the worst kick-drum sound on any album except perhaps Apocalyptic Feasting.

(Oop, here comes the twist)

This album rules, though. If all the breakdowns, catchy major-key riffs, and gang shouts at any time seemed forced or clumsily telegraphed, I wouldn't still put this on for the occasional spin, like I'm doing today. The word "tasteful" continually comes to mind, which is ironic considering how vulgar the constituent elements are but this album as a listen is streamlined and has little to no filler, which is very welcome. As corny as the lyrics can seem, too, they're delivered with conviction and sincerity, which is in short supply.

It's been a while since this was my "thing" and its interesting for me to look back to the mid-oughts (that's what we're calling the last decade, right?) and remember how I used to cycle between this and Annihilation of the Wicked as my go-to metro album. Check this shit out. You know you want to.

"YOU'RE NOT ALONE!!"

"TURNED YOUR BACK ON THE ONES WHO WAITED!!!"