Fire At Will - Hoping For The Best... Expecting The Worst cd

After the more than good Together ep from I For Us Records, the label dropped another release in my mailbox. Looking at the artwork I expected one of those modern deathcore bands. You know the ones with flashy shirts, black hair and too small pants?

When reading that Fire At Will is from France my expectations for another solid release were even smaller. I still have to discover the first real good hardcore band from France.

Well in the end the first part of the title of this record is fortunately more true than the second part. Fire At Will aren't a terrible deathcore band with French accents. They're a modern Comeback Kid-esque band with some punk influences.. and French accents.

Fire At Will isn't a bad band, but the songs aren't above average either. Plus I got pretty tired of the whole production of the record. It sounds too clean and polished for my taste.

Together - The Odyssey ep

When first hearing the bandname Together I expected a band inspired by Insted and Youth Of Today. After seeing them at the Midnight Souls release show I knew I was wrong, yet I was also hooked. The band played a great set of Defeater/Verse like hardcore with great melodies and lots of energy.

But as everyone knows there is often a difference between the live performance of a band and their recorded material. Based on the six songs available on 'The Odyssey' I have to say Together manages both tasks pretty well.

Songs like 'Love.Sinner.Thief' and 'The Odyssey'are as good as most material by Defeater. Which is in a way is also the only negative thing I can say about these Germans; they should work a bit more on their identity.

All in all Together is one of my favourite newcomers for 2010.