Classhole: Classhole

Remember when U2 played in a subway (in disguise) a while ago? I think the event ended up being carefully planned and publicized, but there was a brief moment when it seemed like U2 was having fun being something other than a big deal. There's obviously no point in bringing U2 to a discussion of Classhole, but I like the idea that musicians of any degree of popularity sometimes need to cut loose and do something they might not normally do. Classhole is a little different than U2 busking in a subway, mostly because the band members are much closer to the style of music performed here, but you get the idea. The point is that we need albums like this to remind us what raw, passionate, music ought to sound like.

Musicians on this album come from bands like Eyehategod, Mountain of Wizard, Outlaw Order, Mangina, and a few others. The result is really a 15-track punk rock album that consistently sounds chaotic and angry. I love hardcore punk, especially the kind performed in the 1980s. Back then, I used to go to Fender's Ballroom in Long Beach, CA and jump around all night to bands that have come and gone but will always be classic to me. Songs on this album such as "Right Between the Eyes" and "Burning Pain" took me back to those times, especially when they pushed an otherwise consistent tempo to faster and faster places. Classhole could easily play thrash, but they just barely hold back, containing the energy for the rough and angry vocal delivery. Another song, "Time's Up," also took me back to those old mosh pit days when songs blended fast and slow tempos so they could build anticipation and then unleash fury. This band sounds especially good when they cut loose. I think the point here was to do just that—to play a bunch of simple punk songs and create some modern hardcore with roots in classic punk, heavy rock, and a little bit of thrash. My favorite track, "Taste the Chaos," was also the longest; clocking in at 3 minutes, it has a sweet 80s-style hardcore groove at the bridge section that made me giddy.

Track Listing:
1. Bloodshot
2. Breathing Down My Neck
3. Shut You Down
4. Whole Lot of Nothing
5. Gunned Down
6. Frustrated
7. Corrupted
8. World's Gone Wrong
9. Full of Hate
10. Right Between the Eyes
11. Burning Pain
12. Obsolete
13. Time's Up
14. For the Indolent
15. Taste the Chaos

Added: February 23rd 2016
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 1389
Language: english

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