By Any Means - Built On Respect
We were recently sent through Built On Respect, the latest offering from Belfast based By Any Means. Describing their style as Hardcore and stating ‘they aren’t reinventing the wheel, rather giving it a damn good spin’, and saying that we can expect nothing but a full on performance of honesty and integrity, this promises to be an album which ranks pretty highly amongst our recent features!
Leading into the album through Misanthropy, you’re immediately thrust into a mixture of hammering guitar lines, pounding drums and a well chosen Matrix sample, all working together to immediately get you in the mood for what is to follow! What follows on is My Anger, My Gift, a track which picks up precisely where the last left off and leaves you with no doubt that this is going to be a rollercoaster ride! Pumping guitar lines get you moving whether you want to or not, the raspy vocals soon coming in to really make sure you’re listening to every single element going on. Guitar wise, think of Hatebreed and you’re getting somewhere close to the sound these guys have achieved, it’s hard to believe it’s only a 4 piece making this massive a sound. Rolling drums, bass heavy rhythms, spat vocals, roaring guitar sections – this tracks got it all and as an introduction to a band, really suggests good things are going to follow throughout this album!
Without even a second to breath, you’re soon hurtling onwards into Mercury Rising, another track which demonstrates why these guys are going to be a force to be reckoned with. Faster than before, the pace makes you want to start a circle pit where ever you are at that moment in time, it’s rolling, hammering, fast and heavy whilst still clinging onto a sense of melody. As if to make sure you don’t think they’re going soft, breakdowns smash away accentuating the raw power these guys bring to their music, if this is anything to go by then their live show is going to be quite simply amazing! Powering through the track at a blistering pace, this is one which you need to check out from the album, it’s an incredible beast to behold. Built On Respect continues this theme, launching into a blurred mash of guitars, bass, drums and vocals, the whole mix powering on at speed still, really allowing you to picture the pits which are bound to result from this. A shorter track in all but that doesn’t take away any of the sheer raw energy which comes through it, this is a beast which doesn’t give you a second to sit back, it just grabs you and pulls you along for the ride.
City Of The Dead seems to change the direction of the album somewhat, opening bass heavy and opening far funkier than the tracks before it, you just want to move along to this one. Keeping the bass high in the mix throughout, the depth created also adds further volume to the already massive sound these guys have got, adding further through a solid rolling bass drum, quality stuff. This track once again harks back to the likes of Hatebreed and Agnostic Front, there’s a real power to the music which you can’t help but feel enthralled by. Hardcore Pride solidifies these comparisons and demonstrates the bands influences, opening slow but heavy and keeping the guitars at the forefront of the mix throughout, this is one which you can simply just crank on, turn up and enjoy every second of. Gang vocals bolster the sound further here, adding another dimension to proceedings and really giving this track that solid hardcore edge which can so often be lost when a band tries to stamp their own authority on the genre, here, it seems to have worked and worked well.
By Any Means follows this theme on, keeping everything downright sludgy and distorted to make sure you’re there, listening and loving every second of it. Adding in samples once again, there’s a slightly different feeling behind things here whilst still keeping the hardcore stamp firmly in place. I think if I had to choose a favourite from the album then it would probably be this track, there’s just something about the way it progresses which I really got into. Having said that, Life Support is another triumph which comes pretty close to the top of the selection for me. Another track which gets you moving and shows a hint of what the live show from these guys is like, once again this is a track which is full of power, energy and aggression. Unrelenting until the second it comes to a close, it seems to almost usher in the beginning of Your Weakness, another track full of pounding drums, soaring guitar lines and some of the most raw vocals you will come across. What’s really striking here is how these guys seem to move from track to track without even a second to kick back, not allowing you a rest until they’re damn well ready for you to have one!
Using Both Hands comes in at number 10, a track which almost suggests more classic thrash roots than hardcore initially, but soon picks up where the guys left off. Raw and powerful once again, the pace set through the drumming on this track really seems to hammer it home and pull you in again, you want to be at a venue seeing this played live, you want to be going mental and beating the crap out of anything around you, it’s sheer aggression in a musical form, but my god it works! Misanthropy (Reprise) soon comes in to pummel you once again, still not allowing you a second to breath, instead just keeping the pits moving and the audience engaged. Raw guitar lines steal the show on this track without a doubt, the whole mix forming another powerful beast which you can’t help but just love, this isn’t for the fans of softer stuff but if you like your music raw, powerful and heavy, this is for you!
Closing the album, A Declaration Of War comes into being, guitars with air rair siren sound effects signal its arrival before launching into another sludgy mix of distortion, this is what hardcore should sound like! Slower, more powerful and based around anguished roars on the vocals, this track finishes the album and leaves you with a taste for this band, you want more, even if the journey was a nonstop assault of aggression from opening to closing!
I was gutted when we were first sent through the album from Savour Your Scene Records as this one was corrupt, so each song initially was only about 10 seconds long! Thankfully though, the full one arrived and I’ve had the pleasure of being introduced to By Any Means, hardcore at its best. This album won’t chill you out, won’t help you work faster or be more productive, what it will do is steal your attention, engage you and allow you to forget about everything around you apart from the music. It’s heavy, raw, aggressive and powerful and certainly won’t be for the fans of softer music, but if you like heavy, then this is an album you have to hear! These guys are firmly on my radar now and I can’t wait to see what comes next!
To find out more about By Any Means, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Leading into the album through Misanthropy, you’re immediately thrust into a mixture of hammering guitar lines, pounding drums and a well chosen Matrix sample, all working together to immediately get you in the mood for what is to follow! What follows on is My Anger, My Gift, a track which picks up precisely where the last left off and leaves you with no doubt that this is going to be a rollercoaster ride! Pumping guitar lines get you moving whether you want to or not, the raspy vocals soon coming in to really make sure you’re listening to every single element going on. Guitar wise, think of Hatebreed and you’re getting somewhere close to the sound these guys have achieved, it’s hard to believe it’s only a 4 piece making this massive a sound. Rolling drums, bass heavy rhythms, spat vocals, roaring guitar sections – this tracks got it all and as an introduction to a band, really suggests good things are going to follow throughout this album!
Without even a second to breath, you’re soon hurtling onwards into Mercury Rising, another track which demonstrates why these guys are going to be a force to be reckoned with. Faster than before, the pace makes you want to start a circle pit where ever you are at that moment in time, it’s rolling, hammering, fast and heavy whilst still clinging onto a sense of melody. As if to make sure you don’t think they’re going soft, breakdowns smash away accentuating the raw power these guys bring to their music, if this is anything to go by then their live show is going to be quite simply amazing! Powering through the track at a blistering pace, this is one which you need to check out from the album, it’s an incredible beast to behold. Built On Respect continues this theme, launching into a blurred mash of guitars, bass, drums and vocals, the whole mix powering on at speed still, really allowing you to picture the pits which are bound to result from this. A shorter track in all but that doesn’t take away any of the sheer raw energy which comes through it, this is a beast which doesn’t give you a second to sit back, it just grabs you and pulls you along for the ride.
City Of The Dead seems to change the direction of the album somewhat, opening bass heavy and opening far funkier than the tracks before it, you just want to move along to this one. Keeping the bass high in the mix throughout, the depth created also adds further volume to the already massive sound these guys have got, adding further through a solid rolling bass drum, quality stuff. This track once again harks back to the likes of Hatebreed and Agnostic Front, there’s a real power to the music which you can’t help but feel enthralled by. Hardcore Pride solidifies these comparisons and demonstrates the bands influences, opening slow but heavy and keeping the guitars at the forefront of the mix throughout, this is one which you can simply just crank on, turn up and enjoy every second of. Gang vocals bolster the sound further here, adding another dimension to proceedings and really giving this track that solid hardcore edge which can so often be lost when a band tries to stamp their own authority on the genre, here, it seems to have worked and worked well.
By Any Means follows this theme on, keeping everything downright sludgy and distorted to make sure you’re there, listening and loving every second of it. Adding in samples once again, there’s a slightly different feeling behind things here whilst still keeping the hardcore stamp firmly in place. I think if I had to choose a favourite from the album then it would probably be this track, there’s just something about the way it progresses which I really got into. Having said that, Life Support is another triumph which comes pretty close to the top of the selection for me. Another track which gets you moving and shows a hint of what the live show from these guys is like, once again this is a track which is full of power, energy and aggression. Unrelenting until the second it comes to a close, it seems to almost usher in the beginning of Your Weakness, another track full of pounding drums, soaring guitar lines and some of the most raw vocals you will come across. What’s really striking here is how these guys seem to move from track to track without even a second to kick back, not allowing you a rest until they’re damn well ready for you to have one!
Using Both Hands comes in at number 10, a track which almost suggests more classic thrash roots than hardcore initially, but soon picks up where the guys left off. Raw and powerful once again, the pace set through the drumming on this track really seems to hammer it home and pull you in again, you want to be at a venue seeing this played live, you want to be going mental and beating the crap out of anything around you, it’s sheer aggression in a musical form, but my god it works! Misanthropy (Reprise) soon comes in to pummel you once again, still not allowing you a second to breath, instead just keeping the pits moving and the audience engaged. Raw guitar lines steal the show on this track without a doubt, the whole mix forming another powerful beast which you can’t help but just love, this isn’t for the fans of softer stuff but if you like your music raw, powerful and heavy, this is for you!
Closing the album, A Declaration Of War comes into being, guitars with air rair siren sound effects signal its arrival before launching into another sludgy mix of distortion, this is what hardcore should sound like! Slower, more powerful and based around anguished roars on the vocals, this track finishes the album and leaves you with a taste for this band, you want more, even if the journey was a nonstop assault of aggression from opening to closing!
I was gutted when we were first sent through the album from Savour Your Scene Records as this one was corrupt, so each song initially was only about 10 seconds long! Thankfully though, the full one arrived and I’ve had the pleasure of being introduced to By Any Means, hardcore at its best. This album won’t chill you out, won’t help you work faster or be more productive, what it will do is steal your attention, engage you and allow you to forget about everything around you apart from the music. It’s heavy, raw, aggressive and powerful and certainly won’t be for the fans of softer music, but if you like heavy, then this is an album you have to hear! These guys are firmly on my radar now and I can’t wait to see what comes next!
To find out more about By Any Means, check out their Facebook page HERE.