Remembering Never – God Save Us…

www.rememberingnever.net www.ferretstyle.com

And the winner of Best Use of a Speak ‘N Spell for 2006 goes to South Florida’s angriest sons Remembering Never. When I first heard “Little Hitlers” for the first time, I was genuinely floored. Remembering Never, having gone from a band that hates girls to a band with actual causes and convictions. Mean Pete barks out his best vocal performance to this day, the drums are absolutely astounding on this release, and the lyrical content (albeit a tad militant and uncompromising, just the way Pete likes it) is leaps and bounds better than “Women And Children Die First”. My biggest complaint about this record is that it does, like “Women and Children…” rely too much on breakdowns. This is not a fault, but it does tend to detract from some of the messages in this release, ranging from single motherhood, being poor, gay marriage, animals rights, et al. I say that in response to the fact that I know these guys are writing good material, tackling issues that are not as commonplace as they were when I first got into hardcore, BUT they rely too much on a staple and make the validity of a great record come off as paint by numbers mosh metal. While there will be people who will look past this for the most part, it is an issue with RN. Back to the positives of the record, the guitars are much more creative this time around. The guest spots include Phil from “the Red Baron” on THUGLIFE, and Jon Blake from “On Broken Wings” on Gangsta Rap and Peppermint Schnapps. Again, the overall heavy and crushing breakdowns detract from the message from time to time. While that is not that big of a deal in the long run, it just hurts the record slightly. This is a STELLAR RELEASE; so don’t let my own opinion of all the breakdowns keep you from getting this. RN deliver an honest, heartfelt, and crushing release, plain and simple. You cannot deny their conviction, or passion. This is worth every penny, so if you want cookie-cutter fashionable “hardcore”, look somewhere else. From great scathing artwork, to great production thanks to Zeuss, RN have made a record that is simply amazing, and honest, and that is something hardcore has been missing for some time.
9.25/10