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When I first heard Faceless, the last E.P
from this metal outfit from Colorado Springs, it
was evident that lots of polish had been rubbed
over their raw persona. And I liked it. But this
is coming from a person that has a 10-1 collection
of Brit-pop, indie rock, and punk in her personal
music collection compared to hardcore and metal
releases.
At the same time, it doesn’t keep me from
keeping being able to tell talent from incessant
screaming that seems to pass for singing along
with guitar flailing, which seems to have invaded
the metal music charts like a swarm of locusts.
There is simply more to making music, whether
its hardcore or fluffy emo rock, than doing the
hair windmill on stage and making people’s
ears bleed, sounding like 100 other blood and
guts bands who are all doing the same thing (they
even look the same…unfold your arms already,
we know you’re a badass, and you look like
you could use some fiber).
Aggressive Persuasion has always
seemed to understand this, and it’s the
main reason why they can continue to tour, get
sponsored, and most importantly, why their fans
continue to support them.
Although they don’t share the same sound
as Deftones, AP has that same rare ability to
blend a thrashing energy (and yes, those growls
and heavy guitar) that makes you want to run the
100-yard dash like you’re an Olympic champion,
with lush vocal harmonies and musical melodies,
providing that perfect balance of surround-sound
songwriting in a hardcore forum.
This time around with Prolonged Farewells
they don’t have the fancy shmancy producer
as with Faceless; they’ve gone back to the
basics, which I believe reveals a truer sense
of who they are (although that EP is still a great
nod to their talent). Instead it was Dave
Otero from Denver’s Cephalic Carnage
(who are nationally known in their own right)
who provided his engineering and producing skills
(not counting his infamous numchuck skills, which
doesn’t appear on the album).
After listening to this last release, I can tell
every one of the members have evolved and grown
over the years. Many miles of touring, numerous
shows, and tons of practice time have paid off
for this foursome - from Steve’s
vocals to Rich’s pummeling
of the drums. Prolonged Farewells has
further reinforced the fact that Aggressive Persuasion
continues to be one of my favorite metal bands.
The AP band celebrates this release on Saturday,
June 25 at the Ogden with Synthedic Delusion,
Gridlokt, Son of Man and Downtide.
www.apband.com
-Kim Owens, June 24, 2005
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