In This Victory / The Frontline Split E.P. (2001)
"Okay…which one of y'all just kicked me?" After hearing this disc, I felt just like Chris Tucker in that scene from Rush Hour when he's surrounded by bad guys and a foot just kicks him in the face from seemingly nowhere. Aside from No Innocent Victim, this has got to be the hardest hitting hardcore that Facedown Records hasn't already snatched up. If everything within a good twenty feet of your stereo manages to remain unbroken after listening to these two bands, then I admire your self-restraint because you should be pile driving small vehicles at that point. In This Victory opens things up with some absolutely huge riffs that have a nice dose of metal and double bass kicks thrown in for good measure. The production is great for an indie band, and if you're going to err in this department, then I say err on the side of heaviness. Everything down to the kick drum is heavy as stink, and though some might see it as a tad overdone, I have no problem with it. The Frontline provides the second half of the record, and though they tend to throw a little more punk into the mix, they are by no means wussy about it. One track, however, kinda throws you for a loop by incorporating some dueling black metal-ish vocals on top of more Stretch Armstrong influenced music. They pretty much use the same production techniques, minus the buzz saw bass distortion, and both bands play the Victory-style tough guy brand of hardcore with only a couple of tracks breaking the three-minute mark. The one thing that might need some work for both bands comes in the vocal department. I think they are fairly well done for the most part, but at times it seems that the delivery and phrasing doesn't exactly fit the music and the gang vocals are buried a little too deep in the mix. Minor complaint, though, and I'm sure that this is something that will mature with time. As far as the lyrics go, they are fairly typical in that they remain bold while throwing in the mandatory hardcore angst. All in all, this record ought to drop like a bomb on the N.I.V., Figure Four, and Facedown kids. Rescue has given us a great release from two bands that I hope to hear more from in the future, and this one is definitely worth the eight or nine bucks you're gonna spend on it. -- Review by Jason