Feign (TEX) - False Hope
Self-released
Hardcore/Deathcore
6 songs (20:54)
Release year: 2012
Reviewed by Koeppe

Ignorant. It was the word used to describe this band when I first heard of them out on the blogosphere. For those not incredibly familiar with hardcore, it’s a term of endearment for the hardcore scene that originally arose out of the racism and homophobia of early 90s jockcore, but instead has come to take on a positive tone as the mindless breakdowns that accompanied their asinine right wing lyrics are actually really fun. Simplistic riffs that encourage nothing but moshing are awesome, even if their roots were in bulked-out meatheads wanting pits just to vent their anger out on those smaller than them.

Fast-forward a decade and a half, and you have Feign who seemed to have produced the most ignorant of hardcore, drawing from deathcore downtuning and chugging. You know this album is good for something when prior to a breakdown the band just decides to do a shout-out in a studio recording, “FEIGN. 2012. HOUSTON, TEXAS”. At times, the band seeks to establish moments of space-y atmosphere, however where the band really shines is when they are just chugging away. The breakdown slows the pace to a crawl and it gets you pumped. The only time that they pick up the tempo is in order to race to the next, heavier breakdown. The shouts here have a deep guttural tone, but they complement the rhythm set by the breakdowns. Honestly, this isn’t going to appeal to everyone, but I think it presents a fun exercise in turning off your brain and throwing fists. The music sets a pace that you can curl dumbbells or do some presses to. It will get you pumped to hit the iron. Just be ready to bang your head whilst doing so.

Twenty minutes at a time, it works. It’ll be interesting to see what the band does with their sound on a full-length album, but maybe this type of music is only meant to be enjoyed in EP form. They have a lot of potential and all the room in the world to incorporate more atmosphere and hone their hardcore skills, because as of right now they have the mindless breakdown perfected. So far that has led them to write each song as one long breakdown, and hence they can only go up in terms of writing an actual song, right? Possibly but probably not.

Killing Songs :
Solitude
Koeppe quoted no quote
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