Following the release of their debut full-length, one of my favorites of 2005, These Days went on indefinite hiatus. Needless to say, I was bummed out by the announcement. But after little more than a year off, the band decided to give it another go, and with a revamped lineup got to work on playing shows and writing new songs. Chained to the Lake marks their return with six songs (seven total tracks) of pissed off and aggressive hardcore.
Chained to the Lake begins in a rather ominous manner - "The Lake" creeps in with eerie background noises, repetitious chords, and the use of feedback. "Brothers in Arms" drops in and things are really set into motion. It doesn't take long for me to give thanks that These Days are back in action. The riffs supplied by Alex Capasso and Aaron Bates are thick and meaty, the rhythm section is tight, and Ryan Needham's vocals are as a forceful and direct as ever. All in all this is a beast of a hardcore tune - oh and the additional vocals supplied by Capasso and Sammy Winston of All Bets Off/Ramparts provide a nice contrast.
"Promise Me" follows and is another brutal assault of metallic hardcore, sounding rather similar to Buried Alive. Anyone that claims to enjoy hardcore music, or just heavy music in general, and doesn't get into this song is bananas. Seriously, the groove at the end of the song is excellent. This is followed by "9:15," which is one of the top songs of the year for me. The ferociousness of the music and the imagery of the lyrics are brilliant.
"Hellbound" begins with a hip-hop beat teamed with a slick guitar riff. The beats give way and the pounding drums and gnashing guitars hit full force. The song shreds over the near three minutes and concludes with a cool sing-along. "Pulse" follows and has even more of a hip-hop/crossover flavor to it - the arrangement of the song reminds me of Donnybrook, as do the lyrical structures. The song features Marshall Lichtenwaldt of The Warriors, who further adds to hip-hop feel with his vocal contributions. Basically, the song is like throwing Madball and Rage Against the Machine into a cage and letting them go at it. The closing of the song is a great sing-along/breakdown combo.
"This is What I Get" concludes Chained to the Lake. This song is These Days doing what they do best: brutal metallic hardcore with Needham's equally as devastating vocals, not to mention the help of Justin Peters of Steel Trap. The breakdown and the sing-along of "God help me, my life's a fucking mess" at the end no doubt results in massive pile-ons.
Chained to the Lake is everything that I was hoping it to be. These Days have always been a personal favorite, and this release only adds fuel to that fire. If the band continues to release songs like these, they'll no doubt cement a place atop many other hardcore kid's favorites.
