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Dead Weight, Dance Floor Justice, and Ignite the Will…

Dead Weight - We've Seen Better Days"We've Seen Better Days" (on Double or Nothing Records) is the debut full-length from Florida's own Dead Weight, and with such burly vocals, punishing power chords, and forceful breakdowns within their massive onslaught of crushing metallic hardcore, one might suspect that this is somewhat of a toughguy sort of band or something along those lines, but nothing could be further from the truth. The band is comprised of current and former members of All Hell Breaks Loose, 24 Hours to Live, Target Nevada, and Dance Floor Justice, and their lyrical message—while furious and at times blunt—tends to fuse straightforward anger with calls to bring the message back into the music with regards to the hardcore scene, even utilizing occasional socio-political overtones. Don't get me wrong, they're definitely not rewriting the book, but that's not the point either. The songs are heavy as fuck, relatively basic and in your face, the recording is super dense and has a pretty damn impressive feel going on, and the songwriting travels through just enough variety to keep things interesting as well as cohesive. In the end they bust through 12 tracks in about 31 minutes and I'm definitely digging this shit. I haven't heard but so much of this form of 90's-ish metalcore as of late, so this one certainly hits the spot.

Dead Weight "Parasite"
Dead Weight "Fairweather"

As always, purchase the disc for yourself if you're into it:

@ Double or Nothing Records






Dance Floor Justice - Breaking the SilenceAs mentioned above, Dance Floor Justice, another Florida-based act, bears lineup ties to Dead Weight, as well as Until the End, Where Fear and Weapons Meet, and All Hell Breaks Loose. "Breaking the Silence" (also on Double or Nothing Records) is their first "full-length" effort, granted they tear through the generally short 12 tracks in but a mere 21 minutes and change. Despite having taken their name from a Project X song and the appearance of minimal straightedge-inspired lyrics, Dance Floor Justice is not a straightedge band, but they do play a generally straightforward form of hardcore with a slight dash of added heaviness to keep them from sounding like a rehashed old school outfit. The recording could use a little work in terms of thickening up the rhythm section and evening out the mix a touch, but the vocals sound pretty damn solid and the minor issues don't really affect the songs coming across to the listener, so that's cool. Not a bad debut, and—along with Dead Weight—another strong example of what's going on in Florida these days.

Dance Floor Justice "Teenage Wasteland"
Dance Floor Justice "Exploiting the Masses"

Make the grab if you're down:

@ Double or Nothing Records






Ignite the Will - Words FailAnother Double or Nothing Records debut—just not from Florida (Iowa this time, believe it or not)—comes in the form of Ignite the Will's "Words Fail". Like the above two releases, this is a generally short affair of just 29 minutes, jam packed with loads of midpaced to moderately fast metallic hardcore crunch and strained vocal yells. But, again, while this is a fairly consistent album in terms of the songwriting and overall aesthetic of the music, from a lyrical standpoint these cats are definitely digging a little deeper in terms of the socio-political content given an intensely personal touch, which is definitely cool.

Something has changed from the time when we were a country born of dissent. A nation created with a revolution in its heart. It didn't take long for these ideas to fall apart. Will it fix itself? Will they hear their own plea to be a part of it? When you open your mouth do you feel that the air has been lobbied out?

It took my ears a few minutes to adjust to the sound quality (which is actually pretty solid), but there are definitely some pretty punishing breakdowns happening on this thing, and some of the slightly faster chord progressions are very well placed in terms of providing added boosts of energy. Not too shabby... and "Drowning" is a fucking badass track. If these dudes start hitting that level more often they'll have me totally fuckin' hooked.

Ignite the Will "Drowning"
Ignite the Will "Passing the Time"

You know the drill, so if you like it, buy it... don't be an asshole:

@ Double or Nothing Records

Comments

  1. faceless dudes in business suits, now where have we seen that before? kill the client, maybe?

    10.25.2006 | By Anonymous

  2. Dead Weight is on the other hand very similar to Cursed cover of album I or II.

    10.25.2006 | By Anonymous

  3. if you like some of this stuff i have a free sampler CD from Double or Nothing / Surprise Attack / & Spook City Records.  just email me your address and i’ll send anyone who wants one for free!  19 tracks!  - .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

    10.25.2006 | By EMS / COREGASM / SA MOB

  4. Is it me or does the Dance Floor singer sound a lot like the guy from Shutdown?

    10.25.2006 | By Anonymous

  5. i wish dead weight was a toughguy band with lyrics about beating people’s asses. the sound and the vocals are dead on.

    10.26.2006 | By chris

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