Mindrage and Nailed Promise are two of those heavy bands that a teenager just getting into metal and hardcore will think really ROCK. If that's you, read no further and go support these bands.
For veteran moshers, though, Mindrage isn't much more than your average groovin' rumble roarcore--all brawn and no brains. Meaty distortion, meaty riffs, meaty drums (lots of double bass), meaty bass (a little too much, actually)...and totally unmeaty cliche Christian lyrics (which is probably what most teens need, though). The vocals are guttural shouting without much variation until their final and best track "Cold & Grey," which has some actual singing. Basically, take away the creative riffs and percussion of bands like Living Sacrifice and Soulfly, and the very competent pounding grind that remains is Mindrage.
Nailed Promise begin with a more traditional hardcore take on Korn. They rip off some of Korn's atmospheric effects and quavering spoken vocals but then rock out into straight hardcore with the usual shouts. On the other three songs, they seem to realize they'll probably get more respect copying the hardcore formula than stealing from the recognizable kings of corporate complain-core. It's a mix of typical stop/start and fluid riffs from then on, though they include some variety in the vocals with singing and stretched-to-capacity phlegm-throwing alongside the hxc shouts. Similar to Mindrage, "uncompromising" Christian lyrics are in force. The last track has some clean spoken word vocals and stronger songwriting, ending the album with a gift of hope...hope that these two bands may someday venture beyond paint-by-numbers heaviness.
2.5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #88Reviewed by Jason DoddFour new songs each from the Southern hardcore outfits Mindrage and Nailed Promise -- brought to you by the Texan upstart Pluto Records. Mindrage's contributions run the gruff vox with pseudo-metal riffs writhing on low-end breakdowns gamut. Lots of throaty intensity. Nailed Promise compliment their split partner, taking a similar traditional vocal approach with a bit more of an un-traditional…Decapolis 2001Reviewed by Nate BaileyMindrage is sort of new school metal, taking the old school metal of yesteryears and adding to it a bit of the new metal/hardcore influence. As far as metal goes, the music is tight, exciting and has that something extra. On the downside (this is not a Klank reference) I wasn't a huge fan of the vocals, which reminded me of old Living Sacrifice vocals (circa Inhabit). While there are many…Dead Zine 2001Reviewed by Orc-CleaverHave you ever gotten a cd that you knew would be good before you even gave it a listen? I respect Mindrage a great deal and I knew that they would blow me away and I wasn't disappointed in the least. If Mindrage was an animal, it would be a charging bull; heavy, angry and resolute. Each note, snare hit and bellow hits you hard! I'm not sure if metalcore can get any better. As for Nailed Promise,…Dead Zine 2001Reviewed by Hey YouI was kind of eager to get this split because I liked Mindrage's CD and I wanted to hear Nailed Promise (I heard they were good). The first band on it is Mindrage and I wasn't overly impressed. While it's not bad or anything, it just was the same as their album. A tiny bit more creative in the music, but still pretty much the same thing. Also, with the release of Living Sacrifice's THE HAMMERING…Dead Zine 2001Reviewed by GrindboyEven though they're 2nd on the cd, I'll take on Nailed Promise first off here. I'd not heard them before, so I had no expectations really, but they turn out to just not really be my style. It's that "post-hardcore" vibe, I guess, that makes me think of Blindside, and although I think I like this better than Blindside, it's just not quite up my alley. There are some cool hardcore-ish parts (most…Dead Zine 2001Reviewed by D_ListerHelmet is back...I mean Nailed Promise is back! Seriously back in "the day" Helmet was one of my favorite secular bands. Certainly Everdown and Nailed Promise have become some of my favorite Christian bands. So when I hear Pluto-Records was putting out a split with Nailed Promise and Mindrage I was all over it! What you get are 4 completely new tracks by each band, all of which have a superb…Similar sounding releases
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