Hardcore isn’t new. Metal-influenced hardcore isn’t new. It’s not 1982, or 1992 or 2002 anymore. So why do people keep getting drawn into this style? And how can a band meet the challenge of playing exciting hardcore music, without falling into the trap of being yet another ALL-CAPS logo band they write about on The Hard Times. Well, Trapped Under Ice did it, Incendiary did it, and it sounds like Forced Order has done it as well.
Along with Turnstile, Forced Order is one of the most talked-about hardcore acts of 2015, but does the latest record live up to the hype? Vanished Crusade is a powerful, menacing album, and should be deeply satisfying to fans of hardcore. The band’s sound is one carried down from the ages of post-1986’ hardcore, with the soloing very reminiscent of Integrity, and an attitude that would place them in easy company with Terror and Ringworm (a little taste of Merauder in there too).
“So, what’s new about that? Thousands of bands sound like that.”
What Forced Order brings is concise, to-the-point songwriting. In order for hardcore bands to execute the post-86’ style successfully, they must weave the riffs together in a way that makes you want to fly face-first into the pit. The lyrics need to be delivered in a memorable way that people can relate to. If hardcore is anything, it’s a common frame-of-reference for its devotees. And if the band decides to use breakdowns, they better fit the song in a way that adds to the great narrative.
The singer’s delivery here is similar to that of Trapped Under Ice, a throaty-growl/shout, but with a deeper pit that creates a different feeling than that of Stay Cold, ect. The guitar-work is excellent as well, with solos and Slayer-esque riffing that provides the music that darker, bleak dimension that adds some extra color to the band’s sound, especially on songs like “Seven Realms of Fear.”
Though the album spans 14 tracks, you don’t really feel any sort of drag as one song proceeds to the next. It’s like a fresh batch of french-fries, sure there’s a lot of them, but they’re all so good! All the songs here embody the short-but-sweet approach, with only the last song tapping out at over three minutes. And when an album starts with a banger like “New Forms,” the listener has a reason to get excited about the album ahead. The band has mastered all the tropes of modern hardcore, from the swagger of “Turn the Knife,” to the double-bass fueled mosh-fest of “Disintegrate.” Unless you have some sort of personal aversion to hardcore, Vanished Crusade is nothing short of essential listening, and the effective guitar work should be impressive to metalheads as well.
Sure, there are many avant-garde approaches to hardcore that help to innovate and move the style forward, but such experiments don’t always pan out. Like I mentioned at the beginning, there is the contention that the band isn’t doing anything explicitly “new” here. But more importantly, they’re doing something extremely well. And sometimes that’s all you need.
9/10
Favorite songs: “New Forms,” “Turn the Knife,” “Sense Walker,” “Forced Order,” “Disintegrate”
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