Paint it Black - Amnesia
This ones in the mail as well. But here goes...
OK, so Paint it Blacks last album New Lexicon (2008) has been probably my most played over the last six months. So, naturally I had big expectations for their latest effort their Amnesia 7". New Lexicon was produced by hip hop producer Oktopus and clever finished with pads, drops and aural soundscapes - underlining abrasive, ferocious and melodic hardcore. The weird thing is it was done in a very subtle and effective way, the album flowed in a way that most hardcore albums simply can't. I guess with members from Lifetime, Kid Dynamite, The Hope Conspiracy, Good Riddance and Affirmative Action Jackson these chaps have been around the block several times, and know how to make an album.
So I repeat, with Amnesia, without Oktopus, expectations are high.
For those of you unfamiliar with the band, Paint it Black is fronted by Dan Yemin guitarist of 90's pop punk / melodic hardcore giants Lifetime and Kid Dynamite. His songwriting is still prevalent in this band, with familiar guitars rifts and lightening fast changes something brought to all of his bands. However, it's his lyrics and vocal approach that is his greatest strength in Paint it Black. As a Doctor of Psychology, Yemin has a verbal dexterity which is painfully absent in much modern hardcore, and through his lyrics, his frustrations are clearly and vividly expressed in a way which few vocalist manage, and in league with the classics; such as Ian McKay of Minor Threat and Mike Ferraro of Judge. In that way, while Paint it Blacks Amnesia come in twenty years later, it hearkens back to the to the classic albums of the genre.
In my opinion Amnesia only cements Paint It Blacks place in modern recorded hardcore. The foundation is of course built on solid songwriting, spiteful and intelligent lyrics, and simple but effective instrumentation. Amnesia is fast and slow, aggressive and melodic, political and personal. And, from the first song Salem we have Yemin step up to the pulpit spitting his rhetoric and he doesn't slow down until the grandiose finale Bliss.
Salem is Yemin's most powerful social criticism in Amnesia, its Authur Miller repackaged for the 21st century. Heavily critical of religion and ignorance, the opening lines off Salem sets the tone for the rest of the 7".
They're running their mouths about original sin again.
Somehow we're similar simians, on a steady diet of carcinogens.
We'll be the weathermen, warning of the black skies ahead.
Broadcasting live from the City of the Dead.
It might even be the best song of the 7", but then again, it isn't like there is any weak songs. The final track of Amnesia - Bliss changes the tone again, slower, rocky and while not aggressive, still venomous. Perhaps Yemin sums it up best considering Bliss saying: “ it sounds like Fugazi having a three-way with Jawbreaker and Nirvana.”
Salem and Bliss are my favorite songs at the moment. Exceptional!
I can make no criticism of the 7" in terms of recording quality, it is different again from New Lexicon but no less effective in production, in fact there is a consciousness of the recording process that could only have come from over twenty solid albums of collective experience. The songs flow smoothly and logically through the 10min 7" with only Bliss cracking the 2 minute milestone.
Unless their 7" due for release in August top this, Amnesia may be the best hardcore I'll hear this year. 4.5 / 5
Oh yeah, I'm all over Yemins nuts.
check it out on their myspace here
This ones in the mail as well. But here goes...
OK, so Paint it Blacks last album New Lexicon (2008) has been probably my most played over the last six months. So, naturally I had big expectations for their latest effort their Amnesia 7". New Lexicon was produced by hip hop producer Oktopus and clever finished with pads, drops and aural soundscapes - underlining abrasive, ferocious and melodic hardcore. The weird thing is it was done in a very subtle and effective way, the album flowed in a way that most hardcore albums simply can't. I guess with members from Lifetime, Kid Dynamite, The Hope Conspiracy, Good Riddance and Affirmative Action Jackson these chaps have been around the block several times, and know how to make an album.
So I repeat, with Amnesia, without Oktopus, expectations are high.
For those of you unfamiliar with the band, Paint it Black is fronted by Dan Yemin guitarist of 90's pop punk / melodic hardcore giants Lifetime and Kid Dynamite. His songwriting is still prevalent in this band, with familiar guitars rifts and lightening fast changes something brought to all of his bands. However, it's his lyrics and vocal approach that is his greatest strength in Paint it Black. As a Doctor of Psychology, Yemin has a verbal dexterity which is painfully absent in much modern hardcore, and through his lyrics, his frustrations are clearly and vividly expressed in a way which few vocalist manage, and in league with the classics; such as Ian McKay of Minor Threat and Mike Ferraro of Judge. In that way, while Paint it Blacks Amnesia come in twenty years later, it hearkens back to the to the classic albums of the genre.
In my opinion Amnesia only cements Paint It Blacks place in modern recorded hardcore. The foundation is of course built on solid songwriting, spiteful and intelligent lyrics, and simple but effective instrumentation. Amnesia is fast and slow, aggressive and melodic, political and personal. And, from the first song Salem we have Yemin step up to the pulpit spitting his rhetoric and he doesn't slow down until the grandiose finale Bliss.
Salem is Yemin's most powerful social criticism in Amnesia, its Authur Miller repackaged for the 21st century. Heavily critical of religion and ignorance, the opening lines off Salem sets the tone for the rest of the 7".
They're running their mouths about original sin again.
Somehow we're similar simians, on a steady diet of carcinogens.
We'll be the weathermen, warning of the black skies ahead.
Broadcasting live from the City of the Dead.
It might even be the best song of the 7", but then again, it isn't like there is any weak songs. The final track of Amnesia - Bliss changes the tone again, slower, rocky and while not aggressive, still venomous. Perhaps Yemin sums it up best considering Bliss saying: “ it sounds like Fugazi having a three-way with Jawbreaker and Nirvana.”
Salem and Bliss are my favorite songs at the moment. Exceptional!
I can make no criticism of the 7" in terms of recording quality, it is different again from New Lexicon but no less effective in production, in fact there is a consciousness of the recording process that could only have come from over twenty solid albums of collective experience. The songs flow smoothly and logically through the 10min 7" with only Bliss cracking the 2 minute milestone.
Unless their 7" due for release in August top this, Amnesia may be the best hardcore I'll hear this year. 4.5 / 5
Oh yeah, I'm all over Yemins nuts.
check it out on their myspace here