The stereotypical US citizen knows very little about Australia. In fact, what little knowledge they do have was likely learned from two sources: their grade school education and, of course, the hilarious films that chronicle the adventures of Paul Hogan as Crocodile Dundee. But who really cares about Australia? It's all the way on the other side of the world. And nothing good comes from there anyways, right? Wrong. Australia has an impressive hardcore scene, in which Day of Contempt, Against, and Shotpointblank are major forces.
"Blood Ties" and "The Few, the True" kick the album off with speeding guitar riffs and drumming to match as vocalist Brett Eitzen screams his lungs out. These songs contain plenty of fast two-stepping parts as well as opportunities to dance with fairly aggressive breakdowns. Needless to say, your heart will be pumping by end of these cuts.
Shotpointblank keeps chugging through song after song with fierce intent on demonstrating that Australia's style is just as good as New York City's. "Pretty as a Picture" still maintains the metallic hardcore vibe that was established in previous songs, but to it is added a little zest of thrash-metal guitars. The end product of combining theses elements results in sound similar to Killswitch Engage. After that little divergence, it's back to the business of playing pissed off hardcore on "Something to Talk About," an anthem for all those who have been told they can't accomplish their goals.
If you're looking for the best representation of Shotpointblank, look no further than "Overcome," which combines the blistering guitars and breakdown techniques of Madball and fronts them with coarse vocals akin to early Throwdown. Toss in lyrics tackling the sociological issue of racism and you have only a great song to move on the floor to, but also one to sing along with. The remainder of the album continues on in similar fashion, mixing fast-paced punk with heavy metallic hardcore and infusing them with political, sociological, and scene-related topics.
Lyrically, Eitzen touches on topics that many of today's hardcore bands discuss. But one thing that he has done to demonstrate the true sincerity of his feelings is to accompany descriptions to each song. Sometimes we forget that songs are more than just words. They are the recounting of events in someone's life, not just cleverly placed phrases that sound cool when screamed really loud.
Although it shouldn't, it still amazes me how music that I hear from bands within my own town can sound strikingly similar to bands from the other size of the world. That is essentially the only major downside to this album. The music isn't all that unique, but it's hardcore done well and for the right reasons. Besides, I don't want a kangaroo showing up at my front door with an AK-47.
