Two of the best bands in Connecticut doing a split together? "Sign me up!" I think to myself, and how right am I after listening to this? Dead on.
With Honor and The Distance both contribute three tracks each to this split, and both bands show growth from their previous efforts. With Honor starts with "Gun for Hire", a song that not only showcases the With Honor style, but also introduces us to Todd's new singing style, which I definitely label myself a fan. The other two songs expand their already signature style of melodic hardcore. I personally, unlike others, like a band who takes the basic hardcore style and add things that stray from the norm such as interesting time signatures, double bass (although more of a standard occurrence now), and melodic singing. The group vocals/sing-along part mix on the second song ("It's A Long Way
Down") also is another new idea brought to life that I hope they will continue to excise on their upcoming full length.
The Distance shows the most change and growth on this CD with them shedding the "mini Carry On" status and defining their own sound. The three songs on here are definitely my favorite Distance songs and with every release this band climbs the list of my favorite bands. The third song in particular, "We're All Here. Alive and Unwell.," gets my thumbs up with guest vocals from Kevin Baker of The Hope Conspiracy and Bars, with his part of "lifeless body I die/itch to peel away this skin/until there is nothing left of me." Jay Reason's vocals on these songs sound even more strained and angry; like he's tearing out the insides of the studio they recorded the three songs.
I couldn't end this review without talking about the packaging as I am a packaging nerd. A four panel digi-pack is definitely a bold and expensive statement for just an EP. Most record labels wouldn't spend that much on a full-length, but I'm glad they spent the extra money. The artwork was done by Jeremy Wabizczewicz of Monsters in Disguise and he's definitely become one of my favorite artists right now. While the artwork doesn't really convey an overall theme of the release, it definitely reminds me of indie comic artist Craig Thompson.
Frankly, most splits don't do anything for me because usually it's just two bands slapped together on a release with no relationship. This, thankfully, isn't the case with this release and for someone that hasn't heard either band, this is an excellent way to introduce yourself to both bands.
