Angercore

Time Reveals (2008)

Joe Pelone

Dang it all, Angercore. I'm quite upset with you for wasting such a hi-lariously awesome name on such mediocre tunes. During the 40 minutes that fill your record Time Reveals, not once do you rock me. I'm starting to question your dedication to anger. I do not think it constitutes your core, nor do I think it will give rise to yet another punk subgenre. I think, Angercore, that you might be a little nü-metal.

Now hang on, I don't mean it in like a lame-o Limp Bizkit way. But I don't mean it in an "Is it OK if I still listen to this?" Deftones way either. You're more of a Trust Company middle. You didn't write "Break Stuff," but heck if people can remember you.

When your first track, "For a While," came on, I was concerned. "Those scream parts seem arbitrary," I thought. "I feel as if these quiet verses are meant to kill time until the totally balls-to-the-wall chorus kicks in." It didn't work too well. And that Disturbed-style spoken word bridge left me flabbergasted. Then, you had to make the next nine tracks sound exactly like "For a While." Sure, track two, "Two as One," is a little catchy, but the rest of the batch is a wee bit homogeneous. And the hook for "Two as One" -- "Well I know it's not seven years ago anymore / I grow shyer / But I've tried on I've tried" -- leaves me thinking of 2001, the year that gave us Alien Ant Farm's ANThology and System of a Down's Toxicity. Are you admitting your dated sound? Is seven years the cut-off?

I'm not angry, Angercore. Just disappointed. I mean, you jerk me around for 10 tracks, and then stun me with the acoustic closer "The End." That trombone part is actually kind of good. I endorse that life decision. But you really need to go to your room and think about your life, Angercore. Have you thought about law school?