Just like on the previous albums, on Surrounded By Vultures Bravestar plays quite straight forward hardcore full of sing-along parts and breakdowns. It’s still aggressive, in-your-face hardcore and the band still relies heavily on thrash-inspired riffs, bumped up tempos, thick bass and intensive drum work but has also tried couple of new tricks to prevent things from getting boring. This basically means the songs got more complex with more variance in tempos and some metallic elements or even hard rock parts thrown in.
Review: Bravestar - Surrounded By Vultures
Just like on the previous albums, on Surrounded By Vultures Bravestar plays quite straight forward hardcore full of sing-along parts and breakdowns. It’s still aggressive, in-your-face hardcore and the band still relies heavily on thrash-inspired riffs, bumped up tempos, thick bass and intensive drum work but has also tried couple of new tricks to prevent things from getting boring. This basically means the songs got more complex with more variance in tempos and some metallic elements or even hard rock parts thrown in.
Bravestar - Barricades
Expectations are high for this German band which released "A Warriors Heart", a mighty fine debut I reviewed some time ago. Bravestar is one of the bands that try to bring some fun back into hardcore and you gotta appreciate their effort. Their newest album entitled Barricades is constructed over the themes of fun, hardcore, partying and BBQs. So, is it any good?
Yes it is! Bravestar does not make any dramatic breaks with the previous album here. This new output is filled with energetic and pretty much straight forward hardcore with some memorable hooks and slick breakdowns. The music itself sort of reminds me of bands like Death Before Dishonor or Blood For Blood, but obviously with more laid back attitude. The songs flow with a natural ease and nothing is forced here. This band is real tight and actually shows some talent for shelving out catchy tunes and crazy sing-alongs. I imagine their shows must be one hell of a party. These guys obviously love what they do and it comes across to the listener. From songs about partying to songs about giving a middle finger to this fucked up society, every song on this album is guaranteed to put you in a positive state of mind. I guess many of you can relate to tracks like Fat But Cool or Always Hardcore! Personally, I dig lyrics for Barricades and Strength Through Actions the most cause they speak about the unity in the scene and keeping hardcore on the streets not on the catwalk.
Overall, this album is well played, recorded, produced and their style of positive (in a fat, BBQ way) comes across very clearly. The CD is very nicely put together with cool artwork and all the lyrics so you know what you’re paying for!
Review by Dloogi
Label: Marked For Death Records
Year: 2010
Band's website
