Trigger Effect are a Canadian band claiming to play a punk/metal hybrid, although personally I find the labelling quite inappropriate. No solos, very short songs, and almost exclusively punkish power-chord riffing. The band’s myspace cites reviewers praising the band for their energy, both on tape and apparently live. This is not out of place, as the band’s strong point is definitely the passion and energy with which they deliver the music. It might almost be enough to be infectious, if they managed to couple it with a better use of the occasional spurts of melodic excellence that they manage to produce. Unfortunately, these are infrequent and awkwardly arranged, and leave the listener somewhat deflated after presenting high potential and then failing to build upon it. Songs are very brief, and flow into each other almost seamlessly, not giving any real indication of changing compositional structures. This is an entirely valid artistic choice, of course, but when the songs are so alike that they become confusingly indecipherable the result is a somewhat amateurish and underwhelming listening experience.

Of course, one must judge in relation to what the band seeks to produce, not what one would like them to produce. Dare To Rade The Heliocraft is a loud, angry, snotty (in the good way) moshable piece of music. While an oversaturation of bands like Gallows and The Bronx has inevitably produced high standards for my punk needs, Trigger Effect still strike a chord. A simple, dissonant, loud, pissed-off, energetic, adrenaline-cloyed chord, that still succeeds in making me want to flail my arms and get my chest tattooed. The groovy beat of Nothing Says Action Like Giant Robots starts the album off with a bang and the trend continues into the still more tribal-sounding Drugs For Breakfast. And then they do the same thing over in Angry Morons, albeit with less imagination. And then again. And again. And again. And then the album’s over before you’ve even realized that more than three songs had played.

I guess the general point of my critique is that Dare To Ride The Heliocraft is irritatingly repetitive. Even more irritating because with just a little more attention to detail and a slightly refined method of song-writing this band could be awesome. The energy is there, they definitely love what they do, and the performance is technically valid for the genre. One thing I can say, though: I’d definitely love to see these guys live.