Vicious hell raisers that demand your attention.
Having recently reviewed <209>’s latest single ‘Trigger’, I assumed I was in for more of the same when I played their new album ‘First Bullet First Round’. However, this is funky metal saluting hip hop in such a successful manner I didn’t think was possible.
Album opener ‘S.E.6’ is a RATM-esque plunge into rhymes that somehow manage to keep the anger bubbling beneath the surface. Next up is ‘Warhead’, a decidedly more threatening number that boasts dark waves of damning guitars packed alongside painfully aggressive vocals. ‘Metropolitan’ continues where ‘War Head’ started to explore. This is much like a digestible chunk of rubble form the uprising in the street. Crunching riffs, raging vocals- sheer power. There’s nu-metal here, but this is a more elegant affair rather than the kind of pap that you probably just thought of.
‘Corso’ begins with an achingly angsty guitar intro before crumbling into bass driven rapping. This is impressive stuff, and it is nice to hear a baseline as powerful as this up front for a change.
‘Rubix’ is another jewel in this glittering album of talent. Feisty, daring and ever so slightly sexy despite the lyrics, this is a downright dirty song that fails to hide its glamorous streak. The filth left from the decaying hacksaw guitars seems to drip onto the next few tracks.
Maybe there’s no hope. Maybe the world is going to end. Maybe <209> are going to totally lose it and whip a large blade out from behind their snarling guitars any second now…
You see, this is what <209> do best. They manage to instil fear into your minds along with their sludgy rhythms. ‘For Your Own Good’ employs a little melody to its vocals which gives way beautifully into ‘Neneje’ which happens to sound very much like tour-mates Breed 77. Funny that, isn’t it? The album recovers its originality and more importantly, its growl for the final tracks ‘Temper