Since the Flood

Valor And Vengeance (2003)

Jim

You know, there are still metal tinged hardcore bands that move me. There are still those bands that take the heaviness of metal and the sincerity of hardcore and mix them into something special. This just isn't one of those bands. Don't take that the wrong way, because this isn't a bad album, nor is this a bad band, they're both just kind of there.

The riffs are nothing out of the ordinary and the breakdowns come as no surprise. This band sets a basic formula from the opening track, and they barely ever break from it. Granted, there are moments where I'll find myself tapping my foot, but mostly, these tracks fail to hold my attention for very long. This band is undoubtedly talented, and I'm sure they could do better if they just decided to color outside the lines every now and then. This is metal tinged hardcore by the book, and it's a short book, so this tends to be quite repetitive.

The lyrics here basically play the "you turned your back on me/ thanks for not turning your back on me" game. So again, while the lyrics aren't bad or really poorly written, they're nothing new, and they're nothing insightful.

One thing that kind of irked me came from the press release, it was the fact that this band derided others for playing "fake hardcore" and then proclaimed themselves as champions of the true hardcore movement. What? You cite Hatebreed as an influence and claim to play true hardcore? What color is the sky in your world? Nonetheless, I don't let press releases sway my opinion of an album, because they're generally full of shit. I just thought that was worth pointing out. There are plenty of bands out there that do this style better and offer up more originality. If metal tinged hardcore really is the new skate punk, then Since by Flood is this genre's answer to later day 98 Mute.