ALBUM REVIEW: Behind The Curtain – Downfall
Richmond, VA hardcore band DOWNFALL, who feature members of COMBUST, MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION and KILLING PACE, come with the power on their debut album Behind The Curtain. With ten songs clocking in at just 17 minutes, this is a fast and furious, short sharp shock blast of hardcore that is jam packed full of energy.
Going way, way back, that energy is something that has long defined hardcore music, and is best exemplified by the term Loud Fast Rules, which was a song and album by New York punk rockers THE STIMULATORS (a band who bridged the gap between punk and its transition to hardcore as well as featuring a pre-teen, pre-CRO-MAGS Harley Flanagan on drums). That title perfectly sums up the history of what was to come in the form of hardcore punk.
Faster and more aggressive than what came before, hardcore dealt with the same issues as punk did but did it harder and faster with releases like DRI‘s Dirty Rotten EP and DEEP WOUND‘s first 7” clocking up the songs but done in no time at all. This is something that has happened constantly since and there are numerous examples throughout hardcore and genres that splintered off from it like grindcore that are built on speeding through many tracks with maximum effect.
DOWNFALL are a current band who use that formula to that maximum effect and keep the spirit alive, and it has to be said that the results still sound as vibrant as those early releases onward did as well. The intensity of these songs and how they are delivered is what makes them join the previously mentioned hardcore lineage. After the atmospheric intro of Descent, all hell breaks loose with the chunky riffs of Broken Mind and from then on it’s a race to the finish as DOWNFALL crank out those dynamic hardcore anthems with songs like the aptly-titled Hateflow and Scowl, the pounding Confession, and hometown anthem Richmond all hitting the spot.
Chugging riffs and big breakdowns are, of course, the order of the day across the album’s ten tracks but there is enough BOTCH-style discordance, some metal riffs thrown in the mix and an awesome display of energy to keep things interesting and separate DOWNFALL from a lot of bands doing the same thing. As they race through the track listing, the band demonstrate their quality as musicians, with vocalist Hunter Mowels barking out a series of passionate lyrics with his impassioned vocals.
Behind The Curtain is a strong statement of intent from DOWNFALL and a strong collection of tracks, especially for a debut album. It is one that the band will continue to grow from as they will surely go from strength to strength with their powerful, passionate and hard-hitting hardcore, and, because it flies by so quickly, as soon as it finishes you can crank it back up and embrace it all over again straight away.
Rating: 7/10
Behind The Curtain is out now via DAZE/Triple B Records.
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