2011 • Reaper Records
I'm really not sure how I ever found out about Naysayer; this sort of music isn't something I'd normally get into. Now that I've heard this compilation, I guess I know why. While they're really not a horrible band, their music is simply not something I care for very much.
Essentially, Naysayer's music can be broken down into two essential elements: fast, thrash metal-style riffs, and slow, heavy breakdowns. I suppose you'd call it thrashcore or beatdown hardcore if you had to; I don't know much about those specific styles so it's hard for me to say. That's about all there is to it, though; if you like something extremely simple and straightforward, that's what you'll get here. Nothing showy, nothing unusual or surprising; just riffs. (Not that it's impossible to do simple and straightforward well, of course; that's what punk is about.)
But probably because of their over-simplistic sound, and even despite there being the occasional neat riff and many of the songs are catchy, overall the album is just not very interesting. There's too much of that muted-open-string playing style going on; it all feels very lazy and uninspired, like they wrote these songs very quickly without thinking too much about it. Technically, it's mostly alright aside from the odd vocal quirk here and there, but what good is solid drumming skills if the songs you're accompanying are really dull?
I dunno, maybe it works better live (then again, Hatebreed, who is a bit similar, was one of the worst shows I ever saw, so who knows?). All I know is that something about this comp leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I feel like I should be wearing a sleeveless shirt and a ballcap while lifting some weights when I listen to this. Not my thing.
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