Faded Grey

A Quiet Time of Desperation (2001)

Jim

Right now there are alot of hardcore bands playing metal riffs and really not sounding very much like the hardcore of old. While there's nothing wrong with this and alot of those bands are great, fans of traditional style hardcore are sort've being left out in cold. Enter Faded Grey.

This band has a well balanced dose of agression and melody. While the vocals are intense, they rarely ever venture into the territory of screaming. The closest comparison I can make vocally is probably Bane.

Musically this band plays melodic hardcore that's technical without being metallic. There are also melodic breakdowns between each intense section of some songs. This is especially prevalent in The Great Divide, which is seperated by a calm passage before it goes back into shouted vocals with one of the albums few screams in the background.

Lyrically, Faded Grey touch on topics such as politics, personal relationships, religion, and simply living life to it's fullest. The lyrics are poignant and positive, but never stray into the realm of being preachy.

Overall, this is one of the best pure hardcore releases I've heard in a long time. Sadly, earlier this year Faded Grey called it quits, but you can still experience their intelligent, melodic brand of hardcore with this great CD. If you like hardcore at all, this is an album you need to own.