This six-song demo CD-R comes from Redemption, a band that's based here in Richmond, VA and seems to take influence from various facets of the 90's metallic hardcore scene, which is obviously right up my alley. The recording's a little muddy and could use some brightening up to give the basslines more room to breathe by adding some texture and space to the guitar work, but it sounds totally fine for a demo, and the thickness of the mix actually draws additional comparisons to old (and seemingly forgotten) bands like Empathy. Despite the heaviness, this is definitely not one of those chugga chugga styled bands at all: Expect lots of midpaced power chords with just the right amount of melody, in the form of everything from somber clean passages to quick little arpeggiated riffs (you know I love that stuff), as well as one of those vocal approaches that's basically just yelling in key—not overly aggressive, but not singing either. The whole demo's just over 10 minutes long, which isn't much to go on, but I definitely like where this is heading, and will be very interested to see what comes next from these guys. Good stuff...
The disc's only $2, so if you like what you hear, there's little reason not to give it a shot!
