No Idols

No Idols is a roaring, incendiary band that combines a fuzzed out dirgey guitar attack (a la Cursed) with speed, raw emotion, and enough sociopolitical bile to piss of an entire VFW hall full of the mascara crowd. Low (Swing the Pyramid Hands) is the second release, following a 7" on Grave Mistake (which is equally excellent but different sounding), for the band and shows an evolution of their musical cacophony.

With a droning, noisy mess, No Idols launches into a vicious assault of an album. Low (Swing the Pyramid Hands) is downright caustic sounding. From start to finish it is a crunching, sweltering batch of songs. The beginning of the record sounds like a massive beast rearing back before charging the listener with the intent to gore the listener. No Idols steals (this is meant in the most reverential and respectable manner possible) the most subtle aspects of bands like Cursed, Ink & Dagger, and Suicide Note to create a sound all their own. The album has several really good songs on it. "Temporary Solutions to Permanent Problems" has a super angular guitar riff that just sticks in your head. The real gem of this song is the lyrics. This line is awesome: "Ideals die because it's just so much easier to not give a fuck." If that doesn't describe a large portion of the current punk and hardcore scene, nothing does. "Belief" has a nasty, noisy quality to it. The song has a sound with the effect of having a fist shoved down your throat so far that the puke can't even get around it. "The Definitive Nucleus" has a ton of great sounds on it. The guitars just keep coming at you with different riffs while the rhythm section consistently keeps you on your toes.

It is always a great surprise when a band pulls off a record even better than you were hoping for or expecting in the first place. Admittedly Low (Swing the Pyramid Hands) was difficult to get into initially, but this was my fault for not really giving it the attention that it deserved. There is a lot going on here in the guise of a straight up hardcore record. I really dig the lyrical content. It was all very poignant and the arrangements fit the sound of the record perfectly. No Idols stepped up and delivered a great record; Low (Swing the Pyramid Hands) comes highly recommended.

7.9 / 10 — Bob