FACEDOWNINSHIT - Passing Times (CrimeThInc/Exutoire)
Facedowninshit are a rather awesome mix of ultra-heavy rock (some might say “stoner rock”) and hardcore punk. These Portland (via North Carolina) dudes throw together: Hammerhead (especially the vocals!), Gob (Reno), NoMeansNo, Today Is The Day, Neurosis and Keelhaul. Reference points aside, this album just CRUSHES! The songs have a feeling of someone with a very worn face in total desparation looking completely lost in the contemporary blur of commerence, capital and bureacracy. An album of the year candidate for sure!
((((1)))) Slight ambience then it’s all LOUD & HEAVY doom-rock/metal. Very pissed off & despair-laden vocals. There’s also a bit of black metal (0:55-1:07), boogie rock & noise rock via metal - during the rest of the tune. This is a tale of a poor kid’s wanting to escape from the world after dealing with their abusive parents.
(((((2))))) Straight-up metal riffing, then a very wonderfully fucked up hardcore meets noise-rock style. The incredible desparation & anxiety of the chorus (2:44-3:13) is simply chilling!
(((3))) Ultra-mellow piano, strummy, repetitive guitars and ambience. Weird but very chill-out. It’s an intermission before the next ass-kicker which is...
((((4))))) Twisted mix of black metal (0:09-0:31) leading to GODLY gallop riffing & full-on ROCKIN’ groove - just listen to the first minute & 1/2 as you’ll see why. THe rest of this is some killer shit (pun not intended) with AmRep cross with doom-core. Damn, that riffing is soooo FUCKIN GOOD! 10 out of 10 headbangs!
((((5)))) Slow, strumming into a very wide-open sound of doomy-heavy rock/metal with some nice boogie swagger underneath everything.
((((6)))) Full on hardcore attack that slags “the American way of life” or at least how most people see it as being “a way of life”.
(NOTE: the word “Fucking” isn’t too audible but the “Fuck The USA” is clear enough as is the David Cross sample at the end with an FCC “bullshit”)
((((7))))) A MASSIVE GROOVE of Jesus Lizard/Hammerhead & thudding percussion into headbangin’ awesome Heavy Fuckin’ Metal at 2:07-to the end.
(((8))) A Big riff and then some breathing, some crickets into...slow winding desparate sounding, slow, heavy & very rockin’ tune which gets a bit more metal around 2:27-2:47. Not suicidal sounding but hating the world as we know it, just as much. Fucking awesome, totally doomed ending. (FCC 1:08 “stupid shit”)