The UK's Fig. 4.0 starts this split out with snotty punk rock/hardcore with lots of melody and some bursts of faster hardcore chords. It's very quirky in its use of quick shifts stylistically, but they really pull it off. The vocals range from screams to yells to slight singing, and along with some energetic tempos and strong melodic breaks can be pretty catchy at times. They even border on some pop-punk or total rock 'n' roll breaks on occasion. The recording is on the raw side and should be cleaner for as busy and diverse as the writing is, but I can handle it. Stand (also from the UK) follows with heavier and more serious sounding material with a darker metallic "screamo" sort of edge, complete with hoarse vocal screams and discordant guitars. They've got a good blend of tempos and I like their use of chunky chords, though I'm not into the straight metal riffs. The eerie clean breaks are fucking awesome, though. The production is cleaner on these songs, not bad, it's pretty evenly mixed and clear with solid roundness to the rhythm section. The artwork and lyrics of course deal with religion and sexism, as stated in the title of the split, with a xeroxed insert letting each band take one side for their message. Both bands take a pretty straightforward and honest approach, which is nothing new based on the topics involved (and the same goes for lighthearted song titles like "Millennium Mosh Manifesto" and "I Listened to Heavy Metal on Christmas Day and Now God Hates Me!"), but it all works just fine. The 7" is pressed on ultra thick pink vinyl to boot. This is a strong split between two very different bands, and I'd love to hear more from Fig. 4.0. Stand isn't so shabby, it's just not quite there for me yet. Good work overall, however.
[SuperFi]
Running time - 12:00 (approximately), Tracks: 6
[Notable tracks: all of the songs are pretty good, but I do prefer Fig. 4.0's side]
SuperFi Records - http://go.to/superfi/
