After banging around, silence means everything!
Apparently, 1000 Hertz, are the newest and brightest hopes in the UK Punk scene which is therefore quite a statement to live up to, and one that from the first minute of first song 'Give Me An Amen' we are already scratching our heads at with it's mundane middle-of-the-road post-hardcore drivel. 'Wake Up Call' is slightly better with the second half of the song whereby the singer quits screaming and gives us some brash and slightly raspy punk vocals.
At times there are hints of melodies, like in 'A Grave Fit...', but for too much of the album there is a lot of screaming and screeching. It's true to say that even a lot of the songs have promise, but it's for a flash of seconds instead of minutes. Like in 'Immobilised' we have ferocious drum beats and skittering guitar riffs and there is almost an anthem song hidden away hear amongst the screaming and the noise. It appears that at some point someone told 1000 Hertz that playing fast and loud whilst spitting out vocals like a rabid racoon was cool, and this is the overwhelming feeling that washes over you as you listen. 'Systems Fail' starts off with some great guitars and things are slightly toned down making this one of the best songs on the album. This only goes to disappoint, though as you know that the band have it in them.
There is a strange minute of nothingness that is, 'Hello I Have no Hope', before we are given 'Down And Out' a song that is a little like AFI gone hardcore. 'One Too Many' is a little like a hyperactive child swinging around causing destruction, if tamed I'm sure it could be a loving kid. 'Silence Means Everything' is another fine example of a great punk rock song buried deep in noise. It has a catchiness and a grubby charm about it with an army of guitars fighting over it in a massive riff-off...same. Last song, 'Static Believer' has elements of The Casualties about it, which is an obvious bonus, and for only the second time the band go in a more favourable direct. The addition of 'Systems Fail' and 'Static Believer' stop this album from being unlistenable noisy from angry young men that need the softness of a mother's bosom, and give them at least a little twinkle of hope...
1000 Hertz have toured with the likes of Amen and are to gig with The Unseen next week, but I get the feeling that in boxing terms they could be a very good welter weight band, but they are trying to up to be a heavy weight, and quite frankly the sound isn't there. At first it sounded like this post-hardcore mish-mash would be a first round knockout against them, however you can take some good out of a handful of songs, so somehow I'd say they stayed on their feet and lost on points...