Panic Records has been on quite a roll as of late. Releasing great records from Final Fight, Outrage, Make Do And Mend, and a 7" from a Texas hardcore band The Golden Age. This five-piece made quick work in the studio to record their new full-length, Unlock Yourself which is being described as "one of the best melodic hardcore records to come out of this year." Being a big fan of the genre, I did not expect the band to live up to this claim at all but thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised. Unlock Yourself is an extremely solid album and already a sleeper pick for one of my favorite albums this year.
The Golden Age hit a lot harder than most melodic hardcore bands as they take the heavier elements of the genre and mix it together with with creative guitar lines and melodies. A good way to describe them would be a combination of Comeback Kid and an even more aggressive version of Strike Anywhere. Unlock Yourself is a very consistent record as it clocks in at about twenty-five minutes and never loses it's edge at all. They also really take it up a notch on powerful tracks like "Old Ghosts." Even the shorter numbers leave a bruise like the forty-nine second "The Key," which acts as an intro to "The Flame" where it erupts into an incredibly energetic track. The final track, "Unlock Yourself" is without a doubt, the biggest standout on the record thanks to it's incredibly melodic chorus, one of the few moments on the album that features actual singing. I feel like this track is the most well-structured on Unlock Yourself as it's almost a perfect melodic hardcore song. "Recharge" is also a standout since it slows the pace down and is far more melodic than the rest of the album but it suffers from being a little too short.That could be the case for a few other songs, but hardcore songs in general don't have to be lengthy, so most of the tracks get the job done.
Lyrically, The Golden Age let their pos-icore roots show big time. Most of them are promoting values such as the straight edge lifestyle, maintaining a positive outlook, and having hope. All of this sounds completely cheesy but the band does a good job of making these lyrics not sound preachy and forceful by taking a more respectful approach when writing them. The only problem I have with this is that there's a lot of other bands who take this same approach when writing and they do it a little better than The Golden Age, but that shouldn't get in the way of enjoying them.
Unlock Yourself is one of my favorite hardcore records of this year. There's not much to dislike about it; fantastic melodies, fierce vocals, great use of gang vocals and an overall hard hitting sound. It's nice that the lyrics promote a good message without suffering lyrically. This is a very strong sophomore release from The Golden Age and it may help Panic Records become one of the upper tier labels in hardcore.
