It's all been done before. I'm not being jaded; I'm referring to what bands do to be "edgy." Hair in mohawks, boys wearing makeup, and eating your own (or someone else's) shit on stage, none of it is progressive and none of it is offensive. Actually...eating shit would still shake people up. But, anyways, Dangers realizes this and instead of trying to shock with image or music they focus on the lyrics and messages that are nothing short of honest.
Hardcore music isn't pushing any envelope anymore. When it started in the early 80's, the music could only be described using the adjective "hardcore." Nowadays, hardcore (adjective) music is probably some 1000 BPM death metal and hardcore (genre) music sounds like sped up punk rock with some slow mosh parts. Dangers falls into the punk/hardcore cavern with punk music sped up. Instead of focusing on slow mosh parts they keep it fast with random weird parts thrown in that pique your interest. The introduction to "Half Brother, All Cop" starts off like some southern rock song and then blasts into screaming and circle pit dance lessons.
Whereas on the previous Dangers 7" and demo the song structures are slightly weird, with Anger they push the envelope with parts that on their own wouldn't sound hardcore but in the context of the songs fit in and create a unique atmosphere. In "Break Beat" there is just a drumbeat and vocals. The guitar feedback that bleeds in creates a thicker background. We witness a climax with a drum roll and gang vocals, informing us that, "Broken hearts beat just fine and even my broken heart will beat just fine." The horn intro of, "War? What War?," metal riffage in "Great Wall of California," and the catchy lead in the back end of "My Wonder Years Never Got Cancelled" makes Anger feel progressive while being melded with the numerous punk rock power chord and relentless rhythm section. The fact that every song has one of these weird parts makes the album very memorable.
While everybody seems to focus on a particular song written for the previous 7", the other song lyrics are being ignored. If Dangers were one of the numerous hardcore bands birthed today with lyrics about nothing more than brotherhood and "staying true" it wouldn't matter. But on Anger, every song's lyrics read as if thought out on a subject that has been missed or ignored. While some are political - "The Great Wall of California" and "War? What War?" - others are social and criticisms of the current state of punk/hardcore written from a personal perspective instead of a third person anonymous account. In "Half Brother, All Cop," Al Brown screams, "I've heard you say wetback. I've heard you say beaner. And behind my back you probably called me a nigger. Fuck you. Man in blue." When the music breaks and this part spills out from my speakers, my heart rate increases and I can feel my hair stand on my neck. While Anger is about anger, a lot of time when reading along with the songs I find myself getting angry at the complaints listed. There is more range of emotions than just anger though. Take for example "My Wonder Years Never Got Cancelled," which is about growing up too fast. While this subject is tired in a sense, it's Brown's composition and style of writing that keeps it fresh.
Too many bands have angry lyrics that are so vague it comes off as nothing more than pop-chorus words. Specifics can be good, but at times Anger delves into specifics that are too picky or trivial. Sometimes the endless hatred on Anger seems like reading a list of pet peeves. In "A Missed Chance for a Meaningful Abortion" and "Gashing In" the complaints seem nitpicky, but hey, at least they're about something. On the opposite spectrum, the finger pointing at soldiers in "War? What War?" might cause some controversy, especially with the line, "Presidents don't pull triggers, so don't be blaming Capitol Hill." I can already see people complaining on the messageboards with my magic eight ball.
In between the tracks "A Missed Chance for a Meaningful Abortion" and "Gashing In" there is a sample recorded from a message a girl left on one of the band member's answering machines. While it might be funny if you know the belligerent girl and story behind the message, it's way too long and breaks up the momentum of the album flow since it's seeded so early in the order of tracks. This would've been better as an extra track or if there were more samples.
All in all, Anger is one of the best hardcore releases of 2006, with its unique brand of hardcore and well-written lyrics. Whether people can look past "boycotts" and see Dangers for the band they are (instead of the song they wrote) is another subject. Anger will enthrall you both physically as you jump around and mentally as you pick up the liner notes and read along.
