Bloodlined Calligraphy

Item: They Want You Silent
Author: Evan Stanek

They Want You Silent

(2005)

Reviewed by Evan Stanek

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Label Facedown RecordsDecapolisMay 2005

hardcore metalcore

I first heard of Bloodlined Calligraphy from a Facedown records sampler, and rather liked their song "Shall We Dance" for its energy, interesting metal guitar leads, and in your face message. I was excited to hear what BC could up with for "They Want You Silent", the debut Facedown album from the Michigan quintet. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed on my first listen through, and the thought passed through my head that this was "just another drop in the already overflowing breakdown bucket of cookie cutter hardcore." Repeated listens left me with a more favorable outlook as the best moments of "Shall We Dance" indeed carried through during many moments on "They Want You Silent."

These guys (and girl) in fact have a lot going for them; good deep guitar tones, lots of solid riffing, tasteful and not overdone breakdowns, mosh-worthy up tempo drumming, nice quick metal leads, and bold spirit-filled hxc lyrics. The vocals are delivered by front lady Ally French, and although they're not the most amazing I've ever heard, they get the job done as they are pure hardcore without compromising the listener's ability understand. Fear not, she is not (at least I hope not) a novelty to gain attention. Ally mixes it up a bit with her voice as she carries a straight ahead scream, a bit of a guttural roar at times, a shriek, and some moments of soft speaking.

On Know When to Hold 'em, a short spoken word part is followed by a massive breakdown. The song's counterpart later on the album, "Know When to Fold 'em" featured a similar spoken moment followed by the usual business of varied screams and roars. Also, not another Teen Love Song featured some shrill screaming in an intense fast part. I was also surprised by classic rock sounding riff that came up in Saturday night in Dixie.

This is one of the best albums to come out on the Facedown family, but as with most hardcore, this isn't just for anybody, and people with interests outside the hardcore genre will find it tiring and redundant. This is a decent hardcore disc, maybe good enough to stand above a lot of the mediocre to poor discs coming out of this scene.

2/4