Fight Amp (recently shortened from Fight Amputation) is a punk/hardcore outfit that plays a distinctly noisy, bottom heavy brand of punk with vocal chord shredding yelling and screaming going on over top of the morass of sound that relentlessly pummels listeners, and that is just in the live situation. The band tours frequently and this is the latest in a steady stream of releases (both EPs and splits) that places them in the position of finally being recognized for their hard work. Hungry for Nothing is the band's first full-length that will receive notice by a "wide" audience; in other words people will be able to easily find it which is great for these guys and gal. Philip Cope of Kylesa (guitars, vocals, and producer of Kylesa, Baroness, and others) produced the album much in the same manner as his other projects; thick sounding guitars and bass backed by clear sounding drums that cut through the noisy din is de rigueur in his production wheelhouse, which makes for the possibility of a great sounding record for Fight Amp.
The drum opening into the groove of "Dead is Dead" is a nice way to kick start a record, and the sound is just right - well, maybe a little bit more noise would be nice but that is being real nitpicky and a personal preference. The vocals fit the song well and further impress the noisy nature of the band. Similarly, "Late Bloomer" contains a very distinct drum pattern which greatly influences the overall timbre of the song while the vocal performance is another major influence as they sound much more desperate on this track making for one hell of sludge fest. There is a nice guitar lead in the song that cuts through the dense music to set sonically it apart and expand the sound of the song. The female vocals on "What a Drag" instantly remind me of those heard in Kylesa, which if that name rings a bell tells you that her vocals are caustic and powerful. The music slows down to a pounding crawl that creates a good deal of tension beneath the vocals before the tempo picks up just enough before slowing it back down for effect.
The noise factor increases quite a bit during "Samhain," particularly with the cutting guitars that somehow turn a "melodic" lead into something much more menacing and unsettling. The vocals somehow magnify that clattering quality quite a bit. "Lungs" (maybe this is my perception) is one of the more noisy tracks on Hungry for Nothing, particularly when the song slows down to a crawl where the one guitar maintains a steady pace while the other guitar chimes in with parts that broaden the sonic palette in a variety of subtle ways. The ending of the piece is just about perfect. One of the better offerings Fight Amp gives on the album is "Bound and Hagged" and its bottom trolling bass intro and higher pitch guitars weaving in and out of each other with an angular progression. The drums push the song all the while and help set a steady groove at times while breaking the action up in others with pummeling beats or syncopated rhythms; the song kind of reminds me a bit of a heavier Breather Resist at times.
Hungry for Nothing is a cohesive slab of thick, noisy guitars and pounding drums that hits listeners with waves of reverb and volume (if it is turned up to the maximum one's ears can handle). And even though Fight Amp offer up just eight tracks, they hit hard enough and offer enough subtle variation to keep it interesting and wanting more when the counter runs out on the CD. This is a real good record that has plenty to pound one's brains into a pulp while listening to it. Get this if noisy punk/hardcore is in anyway appealing.
