I hate one-sheets. In case you are not as media savvy as everyone else, a one-sheet is a sheet of paper that labels send out with their promo releases to record stores, magazines, and other places that sell or review music. Usually on these one-sheets there is something about how great the band is or what great bands they have shared the stage with. The worst thing is that the one-sheet always compares the band to whatever band is currently the most hip in a selective genre. I've come to point where I will go outside and set the one-sheet aflame in some sort of ritualistic ceremony to prevent bullshit from infiltrating my home.
Well before Revolution's one-sheet went up like the tower inferno, I caught two band references: With Honor and Comeback Kid. "Great," I thought to myself, "Indianola Records once again has gone out of their way to sign some small time hardcore act in hopes to ride the crest of this melodic hardcore wave that's been sweeping through all-ages venues as of late." Indianola Records has done this before. When Poison the Well was huge, Indianola went on a signing spree on any band with a "get the girl" part and nice hair. Once Coheed and Cambria started to make some bank, Indianola once again picked up some Coheed and Cambria-esque type bands. Well now since hardcore is cool again, I can see Indianola signing a bunch of hardcore band that haven't been around more than a year but damn it, they have some neato keen two-step parts. Indianola fooled me once before when I bought that God awful Casey Jones album with its "funny" lyrics about sucking dick and 1,000 Family Guy sound bites.
The sad reality is that Struckdown sounds nothing like With Honor and even farther away from sounding like Comeback Kid. Struckdown sounds like a metalcore band trying to emulate The Cro-Mags without even hearing The Cro-Mags, you know like Kids Like Us. It's slightly metal at times but has such a big rock sound to it that you wonder if someone in the band has a rather large Iron Maiden t-shirt collection. The vocals remind me of Dennis from Refused mixed with Artie from Millhouse/Indecision/Celebrity Murders, but they tend be a bit weak from time to time and really grate on the nerves, especially during the "whoooaaaaah" part in "Mosh Pit." Revolution really throws you for a loop when a harmonica shows up on a couple of tracks. A harmonica during a mosh part? Well there's something you don't hear every day.
Struckdown is at their best when they just play fast as fuck and hit a decent groove. If they left out the hackneyed straight-edge anthems like "Purity" and get rid of the double bass sick mosh parts this could possibly be a really good hardcore band. I can even look past the fact that a song mentions having God by their side and the big JC is first in the thanks list.
Indianola has a decent band here in Struckdown that actually doesn't sound like second generation Comeback Kid or With Honor. So screw your one-sheet, Indianola. I really can't wait to see what trend you hop on next. However, if you keep signing bands like Struckdown you might actually save some face and have some integrity.
