When I was
first told what kind of music Inner Surge played, I was preparing myself for another one of those cookie-cutter hardcore bands
like you see today in every venue and bar on a Friday night playing “Story of the Year” covers. But then I got
to experience their music when it was emailed to me, and I was pleasantly surprised. The first track “Azura” started
off kind of quite, but picked up once I got more into it. ‘The Outcome”, which is track number two on the CD Signals Screaming, sealed the deal. It gripped me and made me hold on through the
rest of the CD.
The CD is a bit hard
to describe though. I could go on through bands that kind of sound like Inner Surge, but could never really pin-point an exact
match. The sound is in the remnants of a post-Thrice/Every Time I Die sound. The musical arrangement itself reminds me a bit
of old Drowning Pool songs like “Sinner” and “Tear Away”.
The lyrics were very
dark and poetic at times. They’re haunting and melodic throughout the entire CD; they never faded or became redundant.
The vocals echoed of Tony
Sly [No Use For A Name], Ian MacKaye [Fugazi], and David Draimond [Disturbed]. The drum beats were one of the things that
stood out to me the most in some songs. They were what gave the songs that post-Thrice/Every Time I Die/ Poison the Well sound.
One of the stronger guitar songs on the CD was “Branding the Muse”. It showed off how well they can blend tone
and aggression, yet still have the ability to produce a sound that doesn’t seem processed or over-confident as you will
find in most hardcore/metal bands these days.
The lyrics were an
enigma in themselves. Political, but not whiny like most bands today. They were thoughtful and personal, but not so much that
the listener couldn’t connect. Here is an example from “The Bottom Line”:
“Intension Avalanche
The money was counterfeit
The vote was rigged from inside
Hijacked by
a hoax
Tear out that black heart
No good will come of it
We'll cheer when these days are gone
Frantically
crying "The Imposters are dead."”
This
CD was a great blend of Hardcore, Metal, Punk and Rock. It was deep, aggressive and uncompromising to the sounds of music
today. Out of 5 I give this CD a 4.5 because although this was an excellent CD, not every CD can be perfect in every way.
~Mandee
