108, A New Beat From a Dead Heart (Deathwish Inc., 2007)

To start with, a few quick facts about A New Beat From a Dead Heart, the first proper full-length release of the 108 reunion (released by Deathwish):

• This shit is harsh! Expect gratingly caustic and noisy riffs aplenty.
• They've certainly not abandoned their penchant for no-nonsense lyrics:
   

  I dream of a world where I can love you, where I can feel you, where I can know you, without having to own you, without having to hate you, without having to fuck you... fuck you in more ways than one. I dream of a world where a smile isn't a rare gift, and where sadness isn't a curse, and where the two together make life worth living. Where we aren't forced to validate every feeling we encounter, and where such feelings bring a new beat from a dead heart...

• And, as expected, with Kurt Ballou at the helm, the band sounds better than ever.

So, yeah, I just want to make the point right up front that this is a very good album (especially given the hesitancy that often comes alongside reunion albums), and one that does not see the band making any oddball shifts in style or whatever, because, well... you know, I do have minor little complaints. I guess in many ways I'm just bummed that the two best songs from their most recent demo ["Strength or Fear?" and "(Walk?) Their Path"] are damn near the only tracks that weren't re-recorded for the album, which means that—much like Threefold Misery before it—the songs herein simply tend to lack the energy of Holyname or the sheer fucking power of Songs of Separation.

It would seem that the band has simply moved on from that time toward this increasingly angular and chaotic attack (think scathing, noise rock-infused hardcore meets later Black Flag with extra "skronk" and somehow even more mangled riffs strewn about), and that's totally fine, because like I said, this is a very good album... I guess I was just hoping for a little bit more of that early diversity, force, and energy since a couple of tracks on the demo revisited those days. But they tear straight through 13 tracks in less than 35 minutes and never look back (so that "energy" does rear its head on a few welcomed occasions), the recording is great, the lyrics and packaging add to the overall aesthetic, etc.

I'm sure there are some people who are gonna totally flip for this album and possibly even find it to be the band's best yet, it's just a matter of personal taste. So... I personally wouldn't go there, but I'm damn sure still on board as a longtime fan, and will certainly continue looking forward to hearing the continued efforts of their reunion. No doubt.

108 "Guilt"
108 "Our Kind"

Pick it up if you like what you hear:

Deathwish