It's quite amazing how widespread hardcore music has become these days. Despites its relatively young age compared to other genres, it has become a worldwide entity; no longer is the music confined to New York City and Los Angeles, or the United States for that matter. Everyday new acts ready to scream their lungs out hit the stage from more and more remote locations. And while many American's are under the impression that we do hardcore best, they might want to open their ears and take a listen to Not Just Words.
Hailing from Milan, Italy, The Miracle set things into motion with "Guilty," a three-minute cut of youth crew inspired hardcore with a modern twist. The sound is not unlike that of Champion partnered with Fabio's vocal delivery, which is very akin to Comeback Kid's recently departed vocalist Scott Wade. "You Lost My Trust" follows quite similarly; there is a great break/two-stepping part towards the end of the track. The band continues to make their way through the full-length with more two-to-three-minute songs of fast-and-melodic hardcore.
The Mircale does attempt to mix things up, but they still stick close to home. "What Belongs to Me" has a slightly harder edge to it, though by no means is it metal. "The Silver Note" marks the halfway point with an instrumental piano interlude. Not something you would expect to hear on a hardcore record, but a welcome surprise. Italians really are more cultured than us silly Americans. "You Will Be Gone" returns to what The Miracle does best, fast-paced melodic hardcore accented with big sing-alongs and a well-placed breakdown - the song reminded me a great deal of Have Heart's most recent effort. The title track deviates from the formula with nice acoustic guitar intro; you'd think you were about to hear a modern rock ballad based on the opening. Thankfully, that is not the case, the song quickly picks up pace and scorches the rest of the way.
The Miracle wrap things up on Not Just Words with their best track, "We Will Fight You." The riffs are just a tad harder and there seems to be an emphasis on the breakdown this time, but outside of that it is very fitting with the band's sound. As a whole, things do start to get a little repetitive by the end of the album, which is the main downfall of this album.
It is quite interesting to see that Fabio's lyrical content is similar to that of bands from U.S. soil. Despite being separated by the Atlantic, he sees the same types of social and political unrest in his country that we do and incorporates that into what he has to say. Whether he is talking about events in his own country or not, it's quite amazing how his lyrics can be applied to what is going on in our own nation, as exemplified on "We Will Fight You:"
Through the call to patriotism you start a war / a war for your own personal affairs / a war where an oil barrel counts more than a human's life / You think you are superior like the king of a chosen nation / we're not your slaves / we won't take part in your projects.
I can't say I know much of anything about the state of hardcore in Italy. But if Not Just Words is any indication of the talent they have over there, I definitely think we all need to start keeping tabs on their bands. The Miracle is another in a long list of foreign hardcore acts to deliver an impressive album, one that has me excited for the future of hardcore.
