Voice Of Addiction’s “The Lost Art Of Empathy” EP is a furious album that continues to kick listeners’ asses from the beginning salvo Rustbelt all the way to the final effort Are We Even Human Anymore. Along the way, the band is able to distinguish themselves from the other punk acts currently kicking. Rustbelt is a track that builds off of the Unwritten Law and Bad Religion playbook. The band goes all in to create a cohesive sound, all while a more brooding and emotionally intense sound is enough to ensnare listeners for the long haul.
Dead By Dawn concludes before the 2:30 mark, but there are so many things occurring here that fans will have to spin the cut multiple times to hear everything that is going on. The band is able to have the same front-forward sound of Thought Riot and Strike Anywhere, while the guitar work stands in bold opposition to the bubbling, intense drum work that punctuates the track.
I Can’t Breathe allows the bass ample time to shine; SoCal punk as well of the political punk of the 1980s and 1990s are built upon with this effort; fans of Dead Kennedys and The Circle Jerks will find something that they can appreciate here. Everything Must Go shifts things up to have a bit of hardcore punk int he latter stages of The Lost Art of Empathy. The vocals add considerably to the harmony; this is beautiful and deadly all rolled into one. Check out the guitar solo for evidence of this.
Alcorn Queen is a track that showcases that Voice Of Addiction continues to innovate even at the latter registers of their album. The band ends this release as strongly as they began; we’ll be playing the crap out of this album through the end of the year.
Top Tracks: Dead By Dawn, Are We Even Human Anymore
Voice Of Addiction – “The Lost Art Of Empathy” EP / 2017 Self Released / https://twitter.com/VOArockers