Po treh letih trdnega dela, so nemški Paint the Town Red končno prišli do svojega prvega full-length albuma. Tokrat udarijo z novim kitaristom in bobnarjem (Nanouk iz ex-Costa's Cake House) in počasi se že odmikajo od tiste, za njih verjetno precej nadležne primerjave s The Hope Conspiracy. No ja, kljub temu še vedno zvenijo zelo ameriško in niti malo evropsko. Plošček ponuja 13 komadov energičnega, rahlo metalnega hardcora z besnim kričanjem in težkimi, agresivnimi predeli, ki vedno izbruhnejo v privlačne, melodične prijeme. Občasno zaidejo v hitre in melodične, lahko bi rekel old-schoolersko obarvane trenutke in takrat energija in udarnost dosežeta svoj vrhunec. Te formule bi se vsekakor lahko več posluževali. Nekaj komadov je čistih hitov, medtem ko je ostalo dobro ali solidno, se pa tudi najde komad kot je ''Four words battle hymn'', ki je totalno patetičen. Drugače zgoščenka predstavlja dobro mešanico agresije in melodičnosti in ne vem, če jim je, v tem kar delajo, kos še kakšen drugi evropski bend. Svoj booklet pričnejo s tekstom, ki govori o izvoru naše bolečine, trpljenja in travme in ga zaključijo z vzpodbudnimi besedami, ki učijo, da je treba imeti upanje in verjeti vase, ter se boriti za stvari, ki v življenju nekaj pomenijo in svet v katerem živimo. Približno v tej smeri gredo tudi besedila, ki so lepo zapisana, polna jeze in družbene kritike. Kvaliteten izdelek in prava osvežitev od vseh nemških mosh-metal bendov, ki sem jih v zadnjem času slišal. (10/08/2004)

English Version:
After three years of hard work Paint the Town Red finally delivered their first full-length album. This time they strike with new guitarist and drummer (Nanouk from ex-Costa's Cake House) and I could say they slowly start moving away from the style so often compared with The Hope Conspiracy, although they still sound like an american hardcore band. What we get here is 13 songs of energic hardcore with metallic edge and pissed of screaming/shouting, where heavy and aggressive parts usually outburst into catchy and melodic assaults. Occasionally they surprise with fast melodic old-school-like moments I totally adore and wish they would do it more often. Some songs are real anthems, while the majority stays good or solid or even lame, like in case of ''Four words battle hymn''. I think ''Home is where the hate is'' reatin a good combination of melodic and aggressive hardcore not so often found within European hardcore scene. Booklet opens with a text dealing with origins of our pain, suffering and trauma and in its conclusion they teach us to have fate and believe in ourselves as well as to figh for things that matter and world in which we live. Thoughtful and anger-filled lyrics goes more or less in the same direction. Quality shit and a real refreshment amid all these mosh-metal bands scattered around Germany. (10/08/2004)

Izid tega splita je bil napovedan že kar nekaj časa nazaj, sprva je bil mišljen z američani Since By Man, kasneje pa so jih zamenjali belgijci Rise and Fall. In kaj po vsem tem času dobimo? Dosti ne. Osem minut glasbe ali po dva komada za vsak bend. Vse skupaj bolj za pkušino oz. nekaj kar bi raje videl na cenejšem 7'' formatu. Prvi udarijo nemški mladci Paint the Town Red, ki se jih spominjam po energičnih nastopih, medtem ko so glasbeno vedno bili kopija ameriških The Hope Conspiracy. Udaren hardcore z metalnimi kitarami in drevečim tempom bobnanja, nad vsem tem pa še besno kričanje Marcota (ex-My Hero Died Today), ter preliv melodij za privlačnejši okus. Vse skupaj precej močna zadeva z veliko želo po sprememah...''...I don't know the future/ but I know how it's goint to start/ I'm not afraid/ and the vision of a world/ with no boundaries/ with no controls/ keeps the hate in our hearts/ rise agains/ (heart) beat by (heart) beat.'' Rise and Fall delujejo kaki 2 leti in so nekakšen all-star bend iz članov propadlih ali še vedno delujočih imen kot so The Deal, Congress, Kingpin, Spirit of Youth, Forced Hate, Vitality, itd. Glasbeno še vedno uporabljajo isti recept kot pri omenjenih bendih, čeprav jih bi tokrat prej primerjal s Clevo-style hardcorom (Integrity, Ringworm, itd.), kot pa s H8000-arean hardcorom, katerega so med drugimi izoblikovali prav ti, zgoraj omenjeni bendi. Ja, mrke metalne rife v roki drvečih tempov in pa solo v ''Running out of time'' je brez dvom rodil Cleveland. Kakorkoli že, precej agresivno nasiln bend s surovim kričanjem besed razočaranja nad svetom. Cool stvar. Nobeden od dvojice sicer ne prinaša nič novega in split je zdaleč prekratek, ampak teh 8 minut je vseeno združuje kvalitetne 4 komade vredne čekirati. (07/03/04)

English Version:
It passed a long time since announcement of this split that was at first ment with Since by Man from the states, but later on replaced by young belgian outfit Rise and Fall. And what do we get after all this time? Not much. 8 min long CDep with 2 songs for each band. In other words, something that leaves you hungry for more and something I would much rather seen on a cheaper 7'' format. First they strike german youngsters Paint the Town Red which I remember by powerful live sets, though their music always tasted like The Hope Conspiracy. It's a striking hardcore with metallic guitars, driving drum tempos and above all pissed off Marco's (ex-My Hero Died Today) screaming with a flow of melodies that makes it all even more tasty. Strong stuff with a strong will for changes... ''...I don't know the future/ but I know how it's goint to start/ I'm not afraid/ and the vision of a world/ with no boundaries/ with no controls/ keeps the hate in our hearts/ rise agains/ (heart) beat by (heart) beat.'' Rise and Fall are together about 2 years now and they're known as Belgium all-star group out of current and former members of The Deal, Congress, Kingpin, Spirit of Youth, Forced Hate, Vitality, etc. They use pretty much the same style as they used/use with mentioned bands, though this time they are much more influneced by Clevo-style hardcore (Integrity, Ringworm, etc.) rather than their own H8000 area hardcore. Yes, gloomy metallic riffs embraced in driving tempos and the solo in ''Running out of time'' were no doubt born nowhere else but in Cleveland. All in all pretty aggressive and violent music with row screaming words of disappointment over world we live in. Good stuff. Both bands deliver nothing new and the split is way to short but these 8 minutes still possess 4 quality songs worth checking out. (07/03/04)