Review #5: Reprobates - Stress (EP) (2009)

STRESS (EP)

Year: 2009
Genre: Punk Rock
Sub-Genres: Hardcore
Label: No Way Records
Tracks: 5
Length: 8 Minutes (Short)
Style: Angry
My Rating: 5/8

One thing that has sort of annoyed me about "modern hardcore" is the fact that it all seems very same-y to me. I miss the sound that hardcore punk had in the '80s. And that's what the Reprobates give you. Just fast, angry, fuzzed-out goodness. The band is from Canada (which has a better punk rock scene than a lot of the United States), and have a reputation for violent performances on stage. There are five songs on this album, and only one of them is average-sounding. If you liked bands like Deep Wound or early Black Flag, you'll probably like this!

1. Rat Maze
The lyrics on all of these songs are hard to understand because of the lo-fi quality of the record, so that won't be talked about much in this review. But the song starts with this sort of feeling that you're on some sort of adventure... the beat is great, too.

2. Failure
This song starts slow with spoken (as opposed to the raspy yell in most of the album) vocals. However, throughout the song, the speed does pick up and deliver furious spasms of condensed punk rock energy.

3. Stress
The only song on the album I'm not that big on. However, it iz the song that the album is named after. Well, it's fast. It's pissed-off. Not a lot else I can say.

4. Abandoned City
My favorite song on the album. It starts immediately with breakneck speed, but then it slows down a teeny bit, and then it goes back to the faster part, and so on. It's like riding on the blade of a helicopter and then getting off of it when the helicopter lands to get on to the next one as it spins faster than the next! The riff is really cool, too!

5. Gone to Shit
The closer to the album, and it's (guess) very fast. I can hear the singer in this part singing about having no motivation or self-control. Halfway through the song, it gets less fast for a moment, until the finale where it repeats the verse again.

If you're looking for a good, short, fast, intense hardcore album, then this iz for you. Hopefully the band will be releasing another record soon (maybe even a full-length!), so we could hear what else these guys are capable of!