It took Run with the Hunted a couple of releases to find their footing, but they find a voice on their most realized effort to date. Their self-titled full-length debut offers grinding, scrappy metallic hardcore that resembles a blend of mid-period Snapcase, Turmoil and Achilles' "In These Stark Halls" (particularly the speed of cuts like "Magna Cum Laude", "Synethesia" and "Silent Conversations").

In spite of the clear, liberal doses of '90s metallic hardcore influence, Run with the Hunted doesn't staple the band's sound to that decade. But they don't necessarily sound like a "modern hardcore" band, either. Instead, their heavy, lurching mosh parts, often fast and occasionally angular tendencies seem to span the last 20 years well, mixing elements cleanly for a pulsating, scratchy take.

Granted, distinct similarities persist, but the band channel them quite well. Isolated moments of dissonant screeching in "Double Zero" call up Converge's more recent material. There's an inflection in frontman Drew Wilkinson's voice that often reminds me of Rob Fish (and 108's overall signature rushes of panic in "Silent Conversations"). And "Occam's Tazor" could have come from sessions for Designs for Automotion.

The band has a penchant for impressive versatility, too. The album maintains a certain cohesiveness while pulling off all these different vocal and guitar tones from track to track. Parts almost never repeat. It's a bit all over the place, but it works. Whether it's the centerpiece of the record, "I Will Make This World Without You", a slow-burning wonder that combines seething, sung vocals and their more standard, grunting shout, or the advertisement-like spoken-word in "Synethesia" (which may or may not be Trial's Greg Bennick; he's somewhere in this song), the band seem to try everything while remaining within the confines of what could still be called "hardcore."

Admittedly, this album is melodically forgettable, but the overall execution is undeniably solid and well-thought out. Run with the Hunted seem to have great hardcore record collections, and they put their own spin on some of the best elements from it.

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Run with the Hunted