Posted on: March 31, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

With song lengths that would make the quickest punk or noise bands blush, Blacklisted create a style of hardcore that has not been seen for quite a few years. Coming out of a more metal tradition than the nerd-core (technical hardcore) pablum that has been filling the street, this is furious music that does not give listeners time before going off into another direction. The arrangements are obvious, and it is this style that really makes Blacklisted stick our in listeners’ minds. The heavy use of drums during tracks like “I Refuse” give the track a two tiered approach, something that allows listeners to either focus on the screamed, all-together vocals of the band during the chorus or the dense drum beats that lie under foot.

When Blacklisted give just a few more seconds to their compositions (in tracks like “I Refuse”), the end result is that the enjoyment derived from the track is even greater than the average song on the disc. The short track list may dissuade individuals from getting weary of the disc, but it hems Blacklisted into a certain framework that may force them to abandon some of their ideas in the sake of brevity. Thirteen tracks start and end before the band hits twenty-five minutes; the density of tracks like “What’s Wrong With George?” make the total replay well above that of even a two-disc collection. For example, during “What’s Wrong” one can focus in on the groove created between the drum/guitar dynamic, the screamed-out vocals or even the bass that tends to show up at a few opportune times during the track.

This is the genuine essence of what hardcore should be; metal inexorably tied to the tempo and all-together unity of the punk movement, properly whirled together to create something new. What Blacklisted really exploit to tremendous windfall profits on “The Beat Goes On” has to be the all-together chorus; while the instrumentation between tracks here has a certain type of cohesion to it, the disc is connected better by the presence of multiple-vocal choruses. The promo sheet may say “contemporary hardcore anthems” are on “The Beat Goes On”, but I would have to take it one step farther and say that this is a rolling-back of all the bullshit that has hindered hardcore in the last five years. Pick this up; show the world that there should be less Bleeding Through and more Blacklisted!

Top Tracks: Good Grief, I Refuse

Rating: 6.9/10

[JMcQ]

Blacklisted – The Beat Goes On / 2005 Deathwish / 13 Tracks / http://www.blacklistedhardcore.com / http://www.deathwishinc.com / Reviewed 16 November 2005

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