Between me and you, after first listen I thought this record does not make any sense and I want my money back. I bought that lp because of the hype and I felt like a fool. The cover art sill looked cool thought so decided just to keep it, and since I spent my hard earned money on that crap, thought I'd give it a second chance. And a third. And couple more.... and I finally began to realize I was wrong. Nowhere To Run is fire! Day By Day hacks back to glory days of metallic hardcore made by the likes of Stigmata, Dmize or Declination-era Cold As Life. Not crazy heavy, but heavier than Madball. I could be wrong but the vocals remind me a lot of some European metalcore bands like Kickback or Out For The Count. By that I mean high pitched screams that always take me a while to get used to.
On the lyrical front, Nowhere To Run is about the pain and the struggle in a world full of shitty people doing shitty things. But not that 'let me remind you to feel bad' vibe, it's more about dealing with adversity and standing your ground. And there's a mandatory salute to the local scene with SFLHC. Pain and glory - if that's not what hardcore is about than what is? Pretty sure this dude has not done any poetry class because it's all written in a straight forward, almost naive manner, but if that's your problem that means you're on the wrong blog.
All in all, Nowhere to Run come of as fresh and innovative, and there's a sense of menace and urgency once you catch the vibe of it. It took me a while, but I don't regret giving it a second chance.
Eighty Sixed Records' 2018
