Earth Chrisis
Neutralize the Threat

”What can be said about Earth Crisis that hasn’t already been said?” is the first thing written in the information sheet that’s handed to us reviewers. How the hell should I know that? It’s not like you keep score of what’s been said and not. Anyway, here is the second album from these Americans since their 2001 release and split up (and re-union in 2008), which is the seventh in their 20 years long career and is called ‘Neutralize the Threat’. The album consist of ten song and last for half an hour with traditional heavy hardcore. All this from a band that was one of the groundbreakers in this genre in the early 90’s.

What strikes me the most, and as most negative, with the album is the lack of charisma. The ten songs feel more or less the same and nothing distinguish itself from the rest. As a whole, the album doesn’t seem to have any obvious flaws or faults like bad production, badly played instruments, too long or anything else of the things I normally complain about. Instead the problem lies in the boring songs where everything is too similar to the other. Both the songs and what’s in the songs feel quite monotonous and this is not helping the 30 minutes of music to feel like a pleasure. Instead, these 30 minutes feels way too long for me and it doesn’t matter that the album isn’t made badly, I still don’t want to hear it.

So how does it sound? Well, pretty much like tooth brushing. Same same same same same. Change side. Same same same same same same. Change to the upper jaw. Same same same same same. I think the guitars is just like the sound of the brushing, and so is the bass. And the drums try everything they can to do the same. And the vocals? Well, it's monotonous, repetitive, loud and uninspiring. Kind of like eating pasta without anything else. The tempo is mid-tempo but sometimes somewhat faster and sometimes somewhat slower - all though to be completely honest, you barely notice it ever change. Feels pretty much like the same from start to finish.

The things this band stand for seems to me as something much more entertaining than the music they play. Because 30 minutes of 'Neutralize the Threat’ feels like a serious threat against my well-being. And the best way to neutralize it is to turn the album off. And that's exactly what I'm doing now.