Revive
Beliefs of an Old Past (2007)
Brian Shultz
Revive are a French hardcore band who are well-versed in the North American stylings of it all. Beliefs of an Old Past takes typical traits like tempo changes, gang vocals, breakdowns, "whoa"s, and melodic singing and gives them new life…revives them, if you will.
Now that I've filled the cheesy pun quota, I'll reiterate that if you like the fiery nature of Verse and the healthy youth crew melody of bands like Final Fight you should find a lot to like on Beliefs of an Old Past. Despite some absurdly wordy song titles ("Conscience on the Path of No Return," "Ordinary Day Somewhere in the World," "Reflection on Flackening" [seriously, what the fuck is flackening??]), Revive have an otherwise pretty good command of the English language, usually tackling standard hardcore topics but sounding sincere all along.
Standouts include "Ordinary Day Somewhere in the World" and "Conscience on the Path of No Return," where Revive know exactly where to place those gang vocals, and which erupt in short and completely effective bursts. Both songs also mix up the pace wonderfully and march along with a strong but not overbearing intensity. You can tell by these and select others that Revive's songwriting is simply together.
Having been at the game for seven years, Revive make that absolutely clear on Beliefs of an Old Past with a great performance made audible by a great recording. If you don't mind the surprising bits of clean but well-integrated singing, Beliefs of an Old Past should make for a thoroughly enjoyable listen of hardcore punk.