April 16, 2010

Reviewer: Chris

When I first heard the U.K.’s October File it was with their Holy Armour from the Jaws of God album, which I felt was a great punk/metal marriage that should repeatedly punch the mallcore kid’s face from its start to its finish. I, of course, had high hopes for its follow-up, Our Souls to You, and it’s much of the same music: pure, oft-raging metal with a bit of punk aggression tossed in like KISS’ blood into an ink mixer.

I will admit the only hardcore I really enjoy these days is Hatebreed and that’s about where the line is drawn with me; I enjoy the occasional “let’s-break-stuff-’cause-we’re-angry” feel to an album, a la Black Flag or Slayer’s Reign in Blood, and that’s what you get with Our Souls to You, but it’s not just some mess with which to get angry. It’s a heavy album with some caustic vocals that you can’t sing along with because you can’t possibly be that angry! Seriously, it’s not an over-the-top performance, but once again Ben Hollyer doesn’t disappoint. The music behind him is a brick wall of unrelenting metal that has a twinge of some of the punk lyrics that spill out frustration and anger. Remember the old days of a good punk band yelling at society to stop pissing off the youth? Yeah, it’s been a while for me too. Well, this is especially evident in tracks like “Dredge,” which reeks of frustration through both the lyrics and the music, which tends to slow down as the lyrical point is being made, then smash you before you can recover or even take it in. At nearly ten-minutes, the song never gets dull and the volatile attitude never falters. When done correctly it’s easy to understand just how honest a band is when it creates its music, and October File is either veracious to a fault or I’ll just turn in my metal towel and soap-on-a-rope.

The current offering was produced by Godflesh’s Justin Broadrick to a fine point, complete with every ounce of anger being summarily captured and enhanced in what is another fine album. There are some amazing moments throughout this CD, and the overall animosity is one that nearly everyone can relate to without going postal. With the eventual release of rage comes tranquility, for some in the form of drugs, drink, fighting, what have you. For others, music soothes the savage breast and can cause serious moments of introspection and release. October File is such a band to lock yourself in a room, take out the photo of the old lover that jilted you with your best friend and took your family dog, tape it to the pillow and wail away while taking in “A Public Display of Anger.” If that pillow is still intact after that, you either need a physical trainer or a Miley Cyrus CD and Hannah Montana dolly. It’s a brilliant album with no hang-ups, delusions or excuses and you should hear it from beginning to end at least five times in succession.   

No one says you can’t be angry in the privacy of your own home with October File as your trainer for an hour-long pillow attack that will keep you out of the prison system and introduce you to one hell of a band.

Release Date: April 5, 2010
Label: Candlelight Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  Crawl
2.  Corporate Evasion
3.  Falter
4.  Dredge
5.  Eau Du war
6.  Our Souls To You (Part 1)
7.  A Public Display Of Anger
8.  Isolation
9.  September
10.  Love is (A Warm AK47)
11.  Our Souls to You (Part 2)

Total playing time:  1:01:48

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October File - Our Souls to You